Thai opposition parties swept Sunday's election, underscoring the desire for change among citizens in a country ruled by a government backed by the military for nearly a decade. While the forces of change have secured a majority in the lower house, according to results released 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 is still to be decided: it plays against it, among other things, a Senate related to the military.
The Avanza formation – favorite among young people, progressive and born as a reaction to the military junta that led Thailand between 2014 and 2019 – has won the elections, exceeding 14 million ballots and securing 151 seats of the 500 possible in the lower house. Its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, 42, former director of a home delivery technology company, has shown himself on Monday willing to become the head of government of the country: "I am prepared to become the prime minister of all," he said in an appearance, according to Reuters.
"The feeling of the era has changed," he added in an address to the press in which he highlighted how the Thais have gone through a "lost decade". "Today is the new day and hopefully it will be 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," he also said through social networks.
Negotiations with five opposition forces
This Monday, negotiations have begun with five other groups of the opposition bloc – among which they add 309 seats of the 500 of the Lower House – to be able to form a Government, although they could not bear fruit, given that in the vote of an Executive also have a voice the 250 members of the Senate appointed by the military junta, 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 been in second place. The formation – populist and linked to the powerful Shinawatra family, two of whose members have been prime ministers throughout the twenty-first century – has obtained the support of almost 11 million votes and 141 deputies.
Far away has been the grouping of 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. Although his party has come in fifth, with 4.7 million votes and 36 deputies, he could form a coalition executive if he manages to gather support. "I hope the country will be peaceful and prosperous," the prime minister said only Sunday in an appearance after learning the preliminary results. "I respect democracy and elections," he added.
The turn at the polls somehow culminates the protest process that began with the massive pro-democracy protests of 2020, when thousands of people, led by young people and students, defied the government linked to the military, demanding the resignation of the prime minister and reforms of the monarchy. The turnout, of 75.22%, has beaten previous records, said Monday Ittiporn Boonpracong, president of the Election Commission, according to the Bangkok Post. In this country of 71 million people, some 52 million people were called 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, into a formula to decapitate the political opposition through the persecution of those who criticize the monarchy. In his appearance on Monday, the leader of the formation, Pita, has been in favor of reviewing what he has called "politically motivated cases." And on 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 exiled in Dubai), has congratulated Avanza on its victory, and has been favorable to the invitation to join a possible new government. But it has reiterated its reservations about any reform of the crime of lèse-majesté.
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