Thai voters delivered a powerful message to the country’s military-backed government on Sunday: you do not have the will of the people to rule.
The progressive Move Forward Party, which gained a huge following among young Thais for its reformist platform, won the most seats and the largest share of the popular vote.
Pheu Thai, the main opposition party that has been a populist force in Thailand for 20 years, came second.
Together they delivered a crushing blow to the conservative, military-backed establishment that has ruled on and off for decades, often by turfing out popularly elected governments in coups.
“This is an unmistakable frontal rebuke, a rejection of Thailand’s military authoritarian past. It’s a rejection of military dominance in politics,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist from Chulalongkorn University.
Over the last two decades, each time Thais…
