After a clear victory for his opposition MFP, party leader Pita Limjaroenrat claimed victory for himself. “I am Pita Limjaroenrat, the next prime minister of Thailand,” he told journalists at the MFP headquarters in Bangkok on Monday. “We are ready to form the government,” he added, pledging to be a “prime minister for everyone.” After nearly a decade of military-backed governments, the MFP clinched a clear victory in Sunday’s election.
With 14 million votes, the party became the strongest force, followed by the PTP, also in the opposition, with its top candidate Paetongtarn Shinawatra. In the last polls before the election, this was still in first place. Shinawatra comes from the extremely wealthy Shinawatra dynasty: Her father and aunt were both in power in Thailand – but now live in exile after being overthrown in military coups.
The United Thai Nation (UTN) party of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who is supported by the army, was far behind in third place with around 4.6 million votes. Voter turnout was more than 75 percent, the highest ever.
“Prime Minister for All”
The pro-democracy opposition in Thailand has won a resounding victory in the general election. The winner is the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) led by Pita Limjaroenrat.
Senate required for majority
Limjaroenrat proposed a six-party alliance on Monday, with him as prime minister. The second major opposition party, the PTP, was in agreement. With the 151 votes of the MFP, the 141 of the PTP and four small parties, the alliance would thus have a total of 309 seats in the 500-strong House of Representatives and thus have the majority behind it. However, to become prime minister, Limjaroenrat must obtain a majority in the entire parliament. In addition to the 500-strong House of Representatives, there is also the second chamber, the Senate.
This was appointed after a constitutional change by the military under putsch general and current head of government Chan-o-cha – its 250 members are therefore considered to be particularly loyal to the military. To guarantee success, Limjaroenrat would need a total of at least 376 members to vote for it. In the last election in 2019, the Senate voted unanimously for Chan-o-cha, giving him the post of head of government, even though the PTP was the party with the most votes at the time.
According to Reuters news agency, which spoke to six senators after the election, some indicated they would not necessarily vote with the majority in parliament, even if that reflects the will of the people expressed on Sunday. Others said they would abstain, saying it was up to the House of Commons to elect the prime minister.
MFP lead candidate Limjaroenrat said he was confident the Senate would not stop the opposition from winning. “It would make no sense if they went against the will of the people. The days of military coups are over.” Most Thais hope so too, but it would be a novelty: there have been more than a dozen coups since the 1930s.
MFP wants changes to lèse-majesté law
One point where the MFP is polarizing is its position on changing the strict lèse majesté law. This provides for a penalty of up to 15 years for defamation of the monarchy. Critics say conservative governments have used the law to stifle dissent and would therefore oppose any proposal to change the law. According to the constitution, the king is officially above politics and is “reverently revered”.
Opposition wins election in Thailand
Thailand’s pro-democracy opposition won a resounding victory in Sunday’s general election. The government, which was close to the military, had to accept heavy losses.
The monarchy had already shown itself to be untouchable in 2019: the constitutional court had expelled and banned the Future Forward Party – the MFP’s predecessor party – from parliament for violating the electoral law. She had also campaigned for an amendment to the lèse-majesté law. In particular, the party had many young voters associated with pro-democracy student movements who were imprisoned for violating this law. During protests in 2020, they openly criticized the monarchy.
Young voters want change
It is precisely this younger electorate, above all the students, who are striving for democratic changes in their country. The newspaper “Bangkok Post” had already announced before the election that the “winds of change” were blowing through the kingdom. In addition to reforming the monarchy, the MFP is also campaigning for the abolition of conscription. “There is a real desire for reform among voters that cannot be ignored,” Celine-Agathe Caro, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Thailand office, told dpa.
The good news is: “All parties seem to accept the first official result of the parliamentary elections as legal.” Wanwichit Boonprong, lecturer in political science at Rangsit University in Pathum Thani, is convinced that the path will not be easy: the future governing coalition must will certainly make many compromises in order to govern, he told the Bangkok Post.
Experts have also warned that much can still happen before the electoral commission even validates the results, a process that can take up to 75 days and will almost certainly involve legal challenges.
