Thais expected to deliver heavy poll blow to military parties

AFP :
Thailand votes Sunday in an election expected to deliver a rejection of former coup leader Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, with the opposition led by exiled billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra’s daughter tipped to win the most seats.

Polls suggest voters will hand in a damning verdict on nearly a decade of military-backed rule that has brought economic stagnation and what rights groups say is a worrying crackdown on basic freedoms.

The election is the first since youth-led pro-democracy protests upended the kingdom’s politics nearly three years ago with unprecedented calls for reforms to the powers of ultra-wealthy King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Leading the polls is the Pheu Thai party fronted by 36-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra, youngest daughter of former PM Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

The junta-scripted constitution, however, gives the Senate, handpicked by the military, a major say in choosing the prime minister — potentially blocking Pheu Thai’s route to power.

Former army chief Prayut seized power in a 2014 coup, ousting Paetongtarn’s aunt Yingluck, before becoming prime minister at the head of a complex multi-party coalition following a controversial 2019 election.

The 69-year-old has pitched himself as the candidate with the experience required for the job, but is lagging badly in the polls, blamed for a sputtering economy and feeble recovery from the pandemic, which battered the kingdom’s crucial tourism sector.