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Explainer | Thailand’s politics and monarchy
- These are the players and the situation on the ground as the junta-led Southeast Asian nation gears up for its first election since 2011
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Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia never to have been colonised by Europeans. It is the second-largest economy in the region and the 26th largest in the world, according to multiple reports.
Since the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in 1932, its on-off democracy has been punctuated by 19 attempted coups d’état – 12 of which were successful.
In recent years the country has been deeply divided between support and opposition for Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister overthrown by the military in 2006. In 2011, Thaksin’s sister Yingluck became Thailand’s first female prime minister, but three years later she too lost power in a military coup.
Thailand is currently run by a military government headed by former army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, who serves as prime minister.
This year, the country is gearing up for its first general election since Yingluck came to power. Though Yingluck had called a snap election in 2014, the results were nullified and the proceedings marred with violence as anti-Yingluck protesters blocked people from going to the polls.
Still, even with Thaksin and Yingluck both living in self-exile, the Shinawatra clan continues to hold considerable influence, particularly among poor rural voters in northeast Thailand.
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