Thailand’s opposition parties swept the polls on Sunday, evidence of a desire for change among citizens in a country ruled by a military-backed government for nearly a decade. While the forces of change have secured a majority in the lower house, according to the results released this Monday by the Electoral Commission, the party of the current prime minister and former coup general has fallen to fifth place. But the turn in the politics of this country has yet to be decided: it is playing against it, among other things, a Senate sympathetic to the military.
The Avanza formation —a favorite among young people, of a progressive nature and born as a reaction against the military junta that Thailand led between 2014 and 2019— has won the elections, exceeding 14 million ballots and securing 151 seats out of a possible 500 in the Low camera. Its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, 42, a former director of a home delivery technology company, has shown himself willing to become the country’s head of government this Monday: “I am prepared to become the prime minister of all,” he said. insured in an appearance, as collected by Reuters.
“The feeling of the era has changed”, he added in a speech to the press in which he highlighted how the Thais have gone through a “lost decade”. “Today is the new day and let’s hope it’s filled with bright sunlight,” he said. “We believe that our beloved Thailand can be better and that changes are possible if we start working on them today,” she also stated through social networks.
Negotiations with five opposing forces
This Monday, negotiations began with five other groups from the opposition bloc —among which they add up to 309 seats out of the 500 in the Lower House— to be able to form a government, although they may not come to fruition, given that in the vote for an Executive also The 250 members of the Senate appointed by the military junta have a voice, so any decision will require convincing 376 parliamentarians.
In the discussions to form a possible government, the role of Pheu Thai will be key, a party that started as a favorite in numerous polls and has finally come second. The formation —populist in nature and linked to the powerful Shinawatra family, two of whose members have been prime ministers throughout the 21st century— has obtained the support of almost 11 million votes and 141 deputies.
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The group of the retired general and current prime minister, Prayauth Chan-Ocha, who came to power in 2014 through a coup d’état and confirmed his command at the head of Thailand in the 2019 elections, has been far behind. Despite the fact that his party it has been in fifth place, with 4.7 million votes and 36 deputies, it could come to form a coalition Executive if it manages to gather support. “I hope the country is peaceful and prosperous,” the still prime minister limited himself to saying on Sunday in an appearance after learning the preliminary results. “I respect democracy and elections,” he added.
The turn at the polls culminates in some way the contestation process that started with the massive pro-democracy protests of 2020, when thousands of people, led by youth and students, challenged the government linked to the military, demanding the resignation of the prime minister and reforms of the monarchy. The participation, of 75.22%, has broken previous records, according to what Ittiporn Boonpracong, president of the Electoral Commission, declared on Monday, according to the newspaper Bangkok Post. In this country of 71 million inhabitants, some 52 million people were summoned to the polls.
The Avanza party has convinced voters with a reformist agenda that includes the fight against monopolies and the reform of the crime of lèse majesté, converted, according to the group’s complaint, into a formula to decapitate the political opposition by persecuting those who criticize the monarchy. In his appearance this Monday, the leader of the formation, Pita, has shown himself in favor of reviewing what he has called “politically motivated cases.” And regarding the possibility that he will not be able to form an Executive, he has settled: “It will be a fairly high price if someone is thinking of discrediting the electoral result or forming a minority government.”
The Pheu Thai party, led by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter and niece respectively of former prime ministers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra (both in exile in Dubai), has congratulated Avanza on its victory, and has been in favor of the invitation to join a Possible new government. But he has reiterated his reservations to any reform of the crime of lèse majesté.
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