National elections are just a few days away in one of Southeast Asia’s largest economies.
Early voting is already underway in Thailand, but there is much that remains uncertain.
It’s been almost nine years since Thailand’s last military coup, led by former Army General Prayut Chan-ocha.
He’s been prime minister ever since, in part because the military gets to appoint the 250 members of Thailand’s national Senate.
It’s the 500-member House of Representatives that is up for election.
The Prime Minister will be selected by a vote of members of both houses, but that is likely to happen later this summer.
The current election is largely about political parties and influence.
There are four main parties — two of which support the military-backed government, and two of which favor reform.
As for influence, one opposition party centers on the family of billionaire and former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He was in office for five years in the early 2000s.
His sister was Prime Minister for three years until the 2014 military coup. Now Thaksin’s daughter is politically active.
The other main opposition force is the “Move Forward” party, which is popular among young people and recently surging in the polls.
But it’s not just the elections themselves. How the government reacts to the results will be watched closely, especially in a country where political protest has more dynamic history than democracy.
