Thailand sets March 24 as date of first election since Shinawatra coup
- Long-delayed poll will be held on March 24, says Election Commission
- Ruling military junta asks Thais to maintain ‘orderliness, civility, and unity’
- Election was recently set back to avoid clashing with coronation ceremony for King Vajiralongkorn
The Election Commission’s announcement on Wednesday afternoon came hours after Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued a royal decree endorsing the long-delayed poll. The date was announced on live television by the Election Commission chairman Ittiporn Boonprakong.
The date will come as no surprise to political observers, with weeks of speculation suggesting it was the junta’s preferred date.
Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha’s administration had previously promised to hold the elections on February 24. But that plan had to be pushed back after the national palace announced King Vajiralongkorn was to hold his coronation ceremony from May 4 to 6.
The junta said it was untenable for elections to be held in February as it would mean the poll result would be finalised sometime during the coronation period – marring the once-in-a-generation event.
There was no immediate reaction from the junta after the election commission’s announcement but following the royal decree it said the development “should end further debate on the holding and timing of general elections”.
“The government asks that all Thai people help maintain a constructive environment of orderliness, civility, and unity over the duration of general elections and the organisation of [the] coronation ceremony.”
Prayuth’s deputy, Wissanu Krea-ngam, meanwhile said the junta – which calls itself the National Council for Peace and Order – would continue to exercise all executive powers instead of acting as a caretaker government.
Observers say they fear the junta will continue to impose restrictions on free speech and assembly ahead of the hustings period, giving an advantage to political players it favours.
“Today’s announcement of an election date in Thailand is both welcome and long overdue,” said Charles Santiago, a Malaysian lawmaker who heads APHR, a regional group of legislators focused on human rights.
“Unless political parties are allowed to campaign without fear of retaliation, voters will not be able to exercise their democratic right and make an informed choice at the ballot box,” Santiago said.
Titipol Phakdeewanich of the Ubon Ratchathani University said the main fear was Article 44, a law which gives Prayuth power to arbitrarily detain people on national security grounds.
“As long as Article 44 is still in place, the people cannot take anything for granted, even an election itself,” Titipol said.
Still, King Vajiralongkorn’s decree means political parties can officially start campaigning.
Unofficial campaigning has been taking place since December when the junta lifted a long-standing ban on political canvassing.
The key players in the election are the Pheu Thai party loyal to the Shinawatras, undefeated in elections since the 2001, the pro-junta Palang Pracharat party, the Democrat Party backed by the Bangkok elite, and the upstart outfit Future Forward Party formed by auto parts billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
Five hundred parliament seats will be up for grabs in the poll.
Still, the winner of the legislative contest will have not the ultimate say in who becomes prime minister as the 250-seat senate, to be filled with military appointees, must also be consulted.
On May 22, 2014, Prayuth staged a coup against the government led by Yingluck Shinawatra – sister of the exiled ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra – after months of uncertainty that followed an election that year.
In the years since that putsch, Prayuth’s government has pushed through a new constitution that is widely viewed as designed to neutralise the powerful political family.
The Shinawatras’ Pheu Thai party is the latest vehicle of their political movement which draws its power from the country’s rural north and Laos-influenced northeast.
Thaksin, a policeman-turned-telecom tycoon, is at the centre of the movement even though he is based in Dubai, having gone into self-exile.
He was a minister in establishment governments in the 1990s before he started his own political platform which emphasised pro-poor policies and a fight against corruption.
His 2001 to 2006 administration was marred by cronyism allegations, and the pro-establishment military used that as an excuse to launch a coup against him in 2006.
His brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat and Yingluck held office as prime ministers until the 2014 coup.
Thaksin and Yingluck, who is also in self-exile, say the criminal charges the junta has brought against them are trumped up and meant to keep them out of politics.
Political analysts say they expect Pheu Thai to garner the largest number of seats in the elections, but are uncertain if the party will be able to form government.
Junta leader Prayuth said earlier on Wednesday that he would consider joining a political party that pledged to continue his policies.
“But a political party must invite me [to join] first. Whether I would accept the invitation is another story,” he was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post newspaper.
Speculation is rife that the Palang Pracharat party will invite the 64-year-old to become prime minister if it is able to cobble together a coalition with pro-military and anti-Shinawatra parties.
Titipol, the Thai political science professor, said he viewed Pheu Thai as the frontrunner in the polls.
“March 24 as the election date might not affect any side in particular, but the old parties, with experienced politicians, will have an advantage, compared to new parties with totally new candidates,” the professor said. “Pheu Thai still has an advantage because it commands such a brand loyalty.”
