Bangkok: Eight years after the current Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was first installed in office following a coup in 2014, voters in Thailand were going to the polls on Sunday in a vote that was hailed as a crucial opportunity for change. His opponent this time around is the daughter of the politician who is the military's biggest enemy.
It is widely believed that the opposition Pheu Thai Party, led by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, will win at least a sizable majority of the seats in the lower House's 500 members.
However, the outcome of Sunday's vote alone won't determine who leads the next government. In a joint meeting of the 250-seat Senate and the House of Representatives in July, the prime minister will be chosen. No party is likely to receive the minimum 376 votes needed to win, and the winner
Also Read: Before a potential Zelenskyy visit, Germany announces a $3 billion military aid package for Ukraine
Although Palang Pracharath Party, which is supported by the military, won the most seats in the most recent election in 2019, Pheu Thai was able to form a coalition with Prayuth as prime minister. It depended on the unanimous support of the Senate, whose members were chosen by the military government following Prayuth's coup and who share the military's conservative viewpoint.
Although the military has divided its support between two parties this year, Prayuth is up for reelection. The United Thai Nation Party supports Prayuth; Palang Pracharath's standard-bearer is Prawit Wongsuwan, another former general and Prayuth's deputy prime minister.
Prayuth has come under fire for the economy's stuttering, for not doing enough to combat the pandemic, and for preventing democratic reforms, something that particularly irks younger voters.
Also Read: Bloomberg: The UK's top concern is rising food prices
According to Tyrell Haberkorn, a specialist in Thai studies at the University of Wisconsin, "the increased youth vote and general awareness of the damage caused by military rule are key factors likely to determine the results of this election." People are ready for a change after nine years of military rule, even those who previously had no interest in upsetting the status quo.
The populist billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed as prime minister in a military coup in 2006, has a long history of political parties, the most recent of which is Pheu Thai. His child is Paetongtarn Shinawatra. In the Prayuth-led coup, her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra, who took office as prime minister in 2011, was overthrown.
The two most well-liked of the party's three officially registered candidates for prime minister, Pheu Thai and Paetongtarn, are far ahead of their rivals in the polls. However, there is no indication that the conservative establishment, which is supported by the military, has warmed up to them.
"I believe the conservative-royalist side, which supports the military and the monarchy, is facing an uphill battle. Change is inevitable, and they must prepare for it, according to political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
After the election on Sunday, Pheu Thai will need to be cautious when selecting potential coalition members.
Also Read: The US will engage Iran with fresh naval deployments
The Move Forward Party, which is currently polling in second place, shares its ideological goals in trying to rein in the military. However, most conservatives, for whom the institution is sacred, find its outspoken support for modest reforms of the monarchy intolerable, and it scares away other potential coalition partners.
The Palang Pracharath Party and its leader, Prawit, who is less connected to the 2014 coup and the hard line Prayuth has pursued, are thought by many to be the alternative partner Pheu Thai might seek.