Thai voters turned out on Sunday to the polls for a general election, the outcome of which may allow the political vehicle of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to return to power or maintain the status quo under the pro-military incumbent government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha according to Kyodo News .
The elections come at a time when Prayut, a 69-year-old former army general who has been in power for eight years, faces strong political opposition led by the Pheu Thai party, run by Thaksin supporters, amid the desires for change shared by an increasing number of voters.
Pheu Thai is expected to win the largest number of seats, but whether they will be enough to form a government remains to be seen, according to the latest opinion polls.
Control of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives is at stake. Elected members of the lower house and senators appointed by the military will vote to elect the Prime Minister. Parties running in the general election must submit up to three names as candidates for prime minister.
Opinion polls show Pheu Thai in the lead as Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 36, Thaksin’s youngest daughter, is joining the party on behalf of her father, who was ousted in a 2006 coup and fled abroad. to avoid legal proceedings.
The party has promised a series of populist policies to raise people’s living standards, alleging that the Prayut government has performed poorly, especially on the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic period.
But Prayut and his allies have highlighted achievements such as improved infrastructure, welfare assistance to those in need, including COVID-19 patients, and an economic stimulus plan since the last election four years ago. The prime minister is running for re-election under the newly minted Thai United Nation Party, although he will not be running for a seat in Parliament.
Voting errors continue during early voting in Thailand
The smaller, liberal Move Forward party, popular with young voters, also does well in the polls. Among the progressive proposals of this party is to request that the harsh laws against insulting the king and the monarchy be modified.
The party has promised a series of populist policies to raise people’s living standards, alleging that the Prayut government has performed poorly, especially on the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic period.
Paetongtarn and Pita Limjaroenrat, the 42-year-old leader of Move Forward, lead opinion polls as favorites to become the next prime minister, with Prayut trailing behind them.
Even if Prayut wins, he will only be able to serve for half a term or two years under a Constitutional Court ruling.
Prayut staged a coup to overthrow the elected government led by Pheu Thai in May 2014, when he was head of the army, and subsequently became acting prime minister of a military-led government. He returned to power under civilian rule after the 2019 elections.
In the 2019 elections, Pheu Thai won the most seats but failed to rally allies to form a government, prompting the second-ranked Palang Pracharath party, which nominated Prayut as its prime ministerial candidate, to form a government with 18 more games.
Thaksin tweeted on Tuesday that he will return to Thailand shortly before his birthday in July, after he escaped trials in the tax evasion and corruption cases and spent nearly 17 years in self-imposed exile.
The former prime minister faces close to 10 years in prison, while some cases run their course.
A total of 67 political parties compete for the 500 seats at stake in the elections, of which 400 correspond to constituency elections and 100 to party list voting.
According to the Electoral Commission, 52.2 million people can vote. Voting began at 8 in the morning and will continue until 5 in the afternoon.
