Many of those who demonstrated against the government and for reforms in Thailand three years ago will be able to vote for the first time this Sunday. Almost 40 percent of voters are under 40 – and could topple the ex-general in power.
32-year-old Piyarat Chongthep, known as Toto, walks the streets of Bangkok with a megaphone and a stack of election brochures. He is running for Move Forward, a young party that wants to change a lot in Thailand.
In the summer of 2020, he was one of tens of thousands of young people who protested in Bangkok – for more democracy, less power for the military and reform of the monarchy. “But I noticed,” he says, “that my vote has no influence. Since we don’t have guns and weapons like the military, we can’t change anything. We need the help of the people who give us the democratic power to do something change.”
General Prayut Chan-ocha took power with the military in 2014. In polls, he is now only in third place.
Coup general in power since 2014
General Prayut Chan-o-cha has been at the helm of the state since a coup in 2014. In 2019, he was officially elected prime minister, with the help of a constitutional amendment and the backing of the military and monarchy.
Move Forward’s predecessor, Future Forward, was dissolved shortly afterwards by the constitutional court and lost around a third of its MPs. The then party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit sees it calmly.
“We’ve already been dissolved once, but we’re still standing. That’s nothing to be afraid of,” he says ARD. Since the dissolution of his party, he has been banned from being politically active at federal level for ten years. But he supports the newly founded Move Forward party in an advisory capacity.
opposition parties lead in polls
In polls by the state research institute NIDA, Move Forward is in second place with 33 percent, behind the largest opposition party Pheu Thai. In the ranking of the most popular top candidates, Move Forward is even at the top with its charismatic candidate Pita Limjaroenrat. Wherever he performs, he is celebrated like a rock star. Current Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is a distant third.
“It sends us a breath of fresh air, that people want real change and difficult reforms,” says former party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. For example, the young party wants a reform of the lese-majesté paragraph.
Demand for previously unthinkable reforms
Anyone who criticizes the king in Thailand faces 15 years in prison. At least 240 people are currently being investigated, including Toto: he faces more than 50 years in prison for several cases. Most parties therefore do not dare to address the issue in the election campaign because they do not want to risk dissolution.
The street protests by democracy activists have already changed something in the country. During election duels on television, the monarchy is discussed, even the budget for the royal family. In the cinema, not everyone gets up when the king’s anthem is played shortly before the film starts. That was unthinkable before the big democracy protests in 2020.
40 percent are young voters
This year, several young activists decided to run for one of the two major opposition parties. In addition, many young people who took to the streets three years ago will be able to vote for the first time this weekend. Millennials and Generation Z make up around 40 percent of eligible voters.
One of them is 32-year-old café owner Pakornpot Khananurak from the north of the country. He wants an end to military rule. “I think this election is the beginning of making the country more democratic,” he says. But he also sees the danger that the young party will be dissolved again.
Your election program is a threat to the conservative centers of power in Thailand, i.e. the monarchy, judges and high-ranking bureaucrats who have been in charge in Thailand for decades. For Thammasat University political scientist Prajak Kongkirati, there is no turning back. The country’s conservative elite can no longer get rid of the new generation.
Move Forward is particularly successful in the cities. Some items on the program appeal to young people in particular, such as the abolition of conscription or more rights for LGBTQ people. But one thing is particularly important for the younger generation: a return to democracy, in which the party that gets the most votes is the prime minister. And not the party closest to the military.