In Thailand, the opposition dominated the election, a coalition against martial law World news

Thailand’s two main opposition parties dominated national elections on Sunday, with voters rejecting nearly a decade of military-backed rule.

But in a government where coercions and court orders have often rocked the ballot box, fears persist that the military may come to grips, raising the prospect of fresh instability.

The election campaign unfolded as a clash between a young generation yearning for change and the conservative, establishment government of the dictator Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former army chief who took power in a 2014 coup.

With ballots counted from three quarters of polling stations, the Reform Move Forward Party (MFP) came in on 8.4 million votes followed by Pheu Thai on 6.9 million.

Prayut’s United Thai Nation party placed third on 2.8 million, although it is not yet clear how the popular vote will translate into parliamentary seats.

MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat said his party could win 160 of the 500 lower house seats, declaring that the result “closes the door” on any possibility of parties supporting the army forming a minority government.

MFP will seek talks with Pheu Thai and a merger agreement is “definitely on the cards,” Pita told reporters.

Pheu Thai President Paetongtarn Shinawatra congratulated the MFP on their success and said “we can work together”.

“We are ready to talk to Go ahead, but we are waiting for the official result,” he said.

Pheu Thai, the party of billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra now fronted by his daughter, Paetongtarn, has urged voters to hand them a floor to see off the threat of military intervention.

The Election Commission is not expected to officially confirm the final number of seats won by each party for several weeks.

But without a strong majority, the MFP and Pheu Thai may still face a battle to secure power, thanks to the 2017 junta-scripted constitution.

The new president will be elected jointly by 500 elected members of parliament and 250 members of parliament appointed by Prayut’s government – stacking the deck in favor of the military.

In the last controversial election in 2019, Prayut supported the parliament to become prime minister at the head of a multi-party coalition.

Adding to the uncertainty, rumors are already swirling that the MFP could be dissolved by court order – the same fate that befell the Front Front Party of its predecessor after it performed unexpectedly well in the 2019 elections.

– Twenty protests –

The vote is the first since youth democracy protests that began across Bangkok in 2020 with demands to curb the power and spending of Thailand’s king – a violation of a long-standing taboo on questioning the monarchy.

The demonstrations came out as Covid-19 restrictions were imposed and dozens of leaders were arrested, but their energy inspired growing support for the more oppositional MFP.

As he arrived to vote in Bangkok, Pita, 42, said he was hoping for a “historic return”.

“The younger generation these days cares about their rights and they will come out to vote,” he told reporters.

While the MFP is seeking support from millennials and Gen Z voters – nearly half of the 52 million-strong electorate – Pheu Thai draws on its traditional base in the northeastern countryside where voters still appreciate the Thaksin’s welfare policy was implemented in the early 2000s.

As the results came in, a glum-looking Prayut thanked voters for their support as he left his party’s HQ.

“I will continue to do my best regardless of the result,” he told reporters.

The former general made an unabashedly nationalist pitch to older voters, portraying himself as the only candidate capable of saving Thailand from chaos and destruction.

But he struggled badly in the polls, blamed for the sprawling economy and weak recovery from the pandemic, which hit the government’s key tourism industry.

Rights groups accuse Prayut of overseeing a major crackdown on fundamental freedoms, including a sharp spike in prosecutions under Thailand’s draconian royal corruption laws.

The country has seen more than a dozen coups in the last century and has been locked in the past two decades in a cycle of street protests, crackdowns and court orders disbanding political parties.

The Shinawatra family’s bitter conflict with the royal military establishment has been at the heart of the drama, with Thaksin ousted in a coup in 2006 and his sister Yingluck unseated by Prayut in 2014.

The result of ambiguity or controversy at this time can lead to a new round of revelations and instability.