Thailand’s main opposition parties agree to join forces after major election victory

Thailand’s two largest opposition parties agreed on Monday to enter a coalition after inflicting a resounding electoral defeat on the pro-military establishment, though analysts say it is uncertain whether they will seize power.

The progressive Move Forward party won the most seats in Sunday’s vote, beating expectations and beating out the more favored Pheu Thai Party, the populist vehicle of the billionaire Shinawatra family.

Lacking a parliamentary majority between them, the two parties will need the support of several smaller parties and some senators to overcome electoral rules enshrined in the constitution that critics say give the military-backed ruling bloc a advantage to form a government. .

Speaking on Monday, Pita Limjaroenrat, the 42-year-old leader of Move Forward, said he had invited five opposition parties to form a coalition, including Pheu Thai, and was set to be prime minister.

The six parties together could muster about 309 of the 500 seats in the lower house of parliament, he said, well below the number needed to govern in the bicameral legislature, but giving them a foothold in post-election negotiations.

Pita said he was “not concerned but not neglected” by forces, including in the upper house Senate, that might try to get in the way.

“That would be quite a high price to pay for someone who is considering abolishing the election results or forming a minority government,” he told a news conference in Bangkok.

To minimize economic and political risk, a transition team would be formed to secure a new government as soon as possible, Pita said.

The ruling Palang Pracharath Party and Thailand’s United Nations Party were defeated in Sunday’s elections. For many Thais, the question now is whether the military-backed establishment will accept the opposition’s mandate.

“Theoretically speaking, they have legitimacy, but this is Thailand,” said Titipol Phakdeewanich, a political scientist at Ubon Ratchathani University. “We have to wait and see what kind of reaction will come from the current coalition.”

After coming to power in a 2014 coup and ahead of the 2019 general election, the junta led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha changed the country’s constitution to allow 250 senators appointed by the ruling party to vote for the next prime minister.

As a result, a party must be able to win at least 376 seats out of 750 to secure a majority in both chambers.

The identity of the next prime minister may not be known until weeks or months after the vote, as Thailand’s electoral system allows up to 60 days for the publication of official results and parliament meets two weeks later to vote for the leader of the nation.

Experts say some of Move Forward’s liberal campaign promises, including reforms to the constitution, conscription and Thailand’s strict royal defamation law, known as Lèse-Majesté, could prove a problem for senators from conservative mindset.

“Given Move Forward’s position on issues like the Lèse-Majesté bill, it remains to be seen whether conservative senators can bear to vote for a Move Forward prime minister,” said Ken Mathis Lohatepanont, a Thai political science researcher at the University of Michigan. .

Amending the Lèse-Majesté law, which human rights groups say the current government has used to silence dissent, could lead to divisions even within the opposition coalition.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the 36-year-old daughter of self-exiled former prime minister Thaksin, said Monday that Pheu Thai does not support changing the law, only discussing it in parliament.

His party also congratulated Move Forward on their victory.

(We) support Move Forward, which got the most votes, in forming a coalition government,” Paetongtarn said.

“Together as a party we wish Khun Pita the best of luck in becoming Thailand’s prime minister and forming the coalition government,” said Srettha Thavisin, one of Pheu Thai’s three prime ministerial candidates, who sat next to Paetongtarn at a press conference in the capital on Monday. .

“People believe in democracy and want major change; That’s the message that people have given to all of us.”

As of Monday morning, 99.18% of the votes had been counted with a record turnout of 75.22%, the Electoral Commission said.

The election signaled an appetite not only for a change of government, but also for political reform in Thailand after nearly two decades of military rule that included two coups, in 2006 and 2014.

In polls on Sunday, Move Forward rewrote the electoral map in Bangkok, winning all but one district and scoring victories in the northern city of Chiang Mai, the political stronghold of the Shinawatra dynasty.

“Move Forward’s victory has a lot to do with their ability to communicate with people, and not just with young people,” said Titipol, the analyst.

“But if we look at their policies, they have been speaking the same language as the demands of the people. That’s why they won this election.”

No translations available.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service.