Thailand’s opposition parties dealt a crushing defeat to the country’s leaders in general elections on Monday. The traditional military-monarchy establishment, which has controlled the country’s politics for decades, now faces a serious challenge. Mint breaks development.
- Thailand’s two opposition parties, Phieu Thai and Move Forward, have won landslide election victories. The Move Forward party, led by rising political superstar Pita Limjaroenrat, captured an astonishing 151 of the 500 seats up for election. Pheu Thai, led by the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, won 141 seats.
- Meanwhile, military-backed parties suffered serious losses, spelling trouble for incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Chan-o-cha, a former army officer who came to power after leading a military coup that ousted the democratically elected government in 2014, has faced anger for his authoritarianism and mismanagement of the economy.
- The victory reflects a widespread desire for change. 2020 saw large-scale youth protests in Thailand that challenged the military’s influence in the country’s politics and demanded reform. He also called for reform of the monarchy, long considered a hot topic for political parties.
- Move Forward has harnessed the energy and political discontent among the country’s youth. It has also called for changes to Thailand’s lèse-majesté laws, which criminalize any criticism of the monarchy.
- Pheu Thai, led by a scion of the politically influential Shinawatra family, was originally the favorite to win the election. Although it still achieved a respectable result, it found itself outperformed by Move Forward, which seemed to capture the mood of the nation’s youth.
- The focus will now be on two key opposition figures. Pita Limjaroenraat, the 43-year-old Harvard graduate leader of Move Forward, whose campaign has enthralled the country’s youth, has already announced his desire to become prime minister. Paitongtaran Shinawatra, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, will also be a leading contender. His aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, was also prime minister before she was overthrown in a 2014 military coup.
- Despite his resounding victory, it is still unclear whether the opposition parties will be able to get anyone of their own to the Prime Minister’s Office. The country’s lower house and the Senate, the latter of which is filled with army-backed candidates, must now vote to choose a prime minister.
- It is also unclear whether the reformist fervor sparked by the elections can effectively reduce the power of the military and monarchy, two institutions that have long dominated the country’s politics. The political predecessor of Move Forward was banned while both Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra were ousted in the coup.
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