Southeast Asia's Troubling Elections: Democratic Demolition in Thailand

Journal of Democracy, October 2019, Volume 30, Issue 4

Southeast Asia's Troubling Elections: Democratic Demolition in Thailand

Thailand’s long-awaited March 2019 parliamentary election was supposed to usher in a degree of political normalcy in the wake of the May 2014 military coup. Instead, the pro military Palang Pracharath Party was able to form a government, despite the fact that parties campaigning on an anti-junta platform won the greater number of parliamentary seats. Junta leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha and his key associates remain in office thanks to the connivance of various state institutions, notably the Election Commission. Nevertheless, the election was also notable for the astounding popularity of the new opposition Future Forward Party, especially among younger voters.

NYSEAN co-founder Duncan McCargo writes in the Journal of Democracy.

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