“Thailand Election: Concerns over Military Coup as Pro-Democracy Parties Lead in Polls”

Pro-democracy parties could topple the military-backed government that has ruled Thailand for almost a decade on Sunday. It is linked to excitement about what might happen next.

It may seem to be heading towards a defeat for the former coup plotter Prayut, who has the support of the military. The opposition led by the Pheu Thai party, which is led by 36-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra, leads the polls. Thai is the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The country’s army chief has promised that there will not be another military coup:

– There will be no more coups. For my part, we can remove this word from the dictionary, General Narongpan Jitkaewthaes said earlier this week.

Sunday will be a “historic day where Thailand goes from junta rule to democratic rule,” Paetongtarn Shinawatra told 10,000 in attendance as Pheu Thai marked the end of the election campaign on Friday.

A turnout of 90 per cent in the first round of advance voting last weekend can be interpreted as the population wanting a new course. The opposition is still working against the odds, largely due to the constitution drawn up in 2017 by the junta.

In the highly contested 2019 election, Prayut’s party was only the second largest in the National Assembly, but with the help of the military-dominated Senate, he was able to form a coalition.

The election will be the first since the widespread pro-democracy demonstrations that broke out in Bangkok in 2020, where demands were made to limit the power and spending of Thailand’s king. They originated in student environments. It has long been taboo to question the monarchy.

The demonstrations eventually died down as the authorities cracked down on it, and several prominent figures in the movement were arrested.

Human rights groups accuse Prayut’s government of cracking down on basic rights, with a surge in criminal cases against people accused of libel against the royal family.

© NTB / TV 2