Liberals overthrew the military 9 years after the coup in the country
Photo: REUTERS
Democratic opposition parties Move Forward and For Thais won a landslide victory, beating the military-backed State People’s Party and Thailand’s United Nations in the vote count. Voter turnout was the highest on record, over 75%.
As a result of the vote count, the Forward Party won 151 out of 500 available seats in the House of Representatives, while the For Thai Party won 141 seats.
The main parties of the former ruling coalition, led by the current Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-Ocha and General Prawit Wongsuwan, lost most of their constituencies and won no more than 76 seats in total.
“I am Pita Limjaroenrath, the next prime minister of Thailand,” said the 42-year-old Forward leader. “I promised to be the prime minister for everyone, so I invited the For Thai Party, affiliated with exile Thaksin Shinawatra, and four other opposition parties to form an alliance after receiving the most votes.”
In the last elections, the Liberals proposed a program that focused on reducing the power of the military and abolishing conscription. The desire to strengthen democratic institutions and protect civil liberties and the rights of Thai people became the basis of the opposition’s election campaign.
According to Thai law, within 60 days, all winning candidates must be verified by the CEC to verify the legitimacy of their election. The final results of the vote will be officially announced only after all verifications within the specified period no later than July 13. The new parliament will then be able to meet to elect a president, a prime minister, and approve the composition of the government.
In any case, for Russian tourists, for whom Thailand has become one of the priority destinations in recent years, it is unlikely that anything will change. The Democratic parties expressed their willingness to continue with the policy aimed at developing the tourism industry and attracting foreign tourists to Thailand. Opposition leaders have said on numerous occasions that tourism is an important part of Thailand’s economy and that the new government intends to continue supporting the sector in the future. Previously, the Thai authorities postponed the imposition of a tourist tax on foreigners entering the country for the fifth time until at least September 2023.
In 2014 there was a coup in Thailand, after which the commander of the armed forces, General Prayut Chan-Ocha, took over as head of government. In 2020, massive youth protests took place in the country, during which Thais demanded democratic reforms, a change in the constitution, and a significant reduction in the powers of the royal family. However, the military responded only by detaining hundreds of activists, toughening authoritarian policies, and enacting ruthless laws punishing “disrespect and lèse majesté.”
