Thais cast ballots last Sunday in their first general election since 2014 and the vote resolved little, if anything. The population remains deeply divided, as evidenced by the support for the two leading parties, but the structural advantage enjoyed by the ruling party — installed by and closely associated with the military — ensures that the status quo will not be challenged. This result was expected and portends ill for genuine democracy in that country.
The Thai Army launched a coup against Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014, asserting that she was corrupt, and promised a return to democracy as soon as possible. Ultimately, that meant five years, enough time for the military leaders who took command to don civilian clothes, demonstrate that they were capable leaders and, perhaps most importantly, write and see ratified a constitution that ensured that the military would retain power no matter what electoral results occurred.
Confident that they had both won over enough of the public and institutionalized control over government, they called the general election that was held last Sunday. As anticipated, voters were both deeply split and the results were contested. Initial tallies showed the Pheu Thai Party, the main opposition party that is aligned with Thaksin Shinawatra, a populist billionaire ousted in a 2006 coup and older brother of the prime minister removed in 2014, winning 137 of the 500 seats in the Lower House. On Wednesday afternoon, the party announced that it had formed a coalition with six other parties. The pro-military Palang Pracharat party claimed 97 seats but said that it was ahead in the popular vote, which gave it the right, a party spokesperson insisted, to form a government with like-minded parties. The remaining seats will be apportioned by proportional representation and that will take some time to tally. Final results are expected May 9.