Thai elections: Results show surprisingly close race with pro-military party ahead

Supporters of Pheu Thai party watch the election results broadcast on a television, in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo / AP

Early, unofficial tallies from a long-awaited election in Thailand showed pro-democracy forces gridlocked with a party seeking to entrench the military in politics, a surprise result that could keep junta head Prayuth Chan-ocha in power.

With 92 per cent of the votes counted, the military-linked party, formed as a vehicle to keep the junta in power, had a slightly bigger share of votes than Pheu Thai, the populist party linked to ousted billionaire prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The Palang Pracharat party was first with 7.5 million votes, to Pheu Thai's 7 million.

The new Future Forward Party, led by a 40-year-old liberal and athletic billionaire who has been unequivocal about his desire to end military rule, was in third place.

The results indicate old divisions in Thailand dissolving to make way for new ones: a fundamental question of whether civilian elected politicians are best placed to lead the country over the army, alongside a deified monarch. It also raises the spectre of protests and instability to come, with supporters of a pro-democracy populist movement that is likely to cry foul.

The election will determine the makeup of Thailand's parliament, which has 500 elective seats. Those elected MPs and 250 unelected senators, appointed by the junta, will decide who becomes prime minister. It is unclear how the raw number for votes will translate into seats under a complicated new system of MPs elected through constituency races and proportional representation.

The prime minister is chosen by a simple majority.

As polls opened yesterday in Thailand, a hashtag started trending on social media: #OldEnoughtoVoteOurselves.

Throughout the day, Thailand's millennials were among the most enthusiastic voters, rushing to reject the dominance of the military junta. They argued with elder relatives, shared political videos on social media and subtly challenged Thailand's social contract, where the word of the monarchy is absolute, with hashtags.

"We want to see new things from new people, rather than the same old politicians talking about the same things," said a 32-year old who wanted to be named only by her nickname, Kob, for fear of repercussion from her government-linked employer. "We want a prime minister that comes from an election, not a coup."

Of the 52 million eligible voters in Thailand - almost 70 per cent of whom turned up to cast ballots in the first election since a 2014 coup - about seven million are young, first-time voters.

A military-linked party took an unexpected lead in elections in Thailand on Sunday https://t.co/w32ib4x0aA

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 24, 2019

The leader of Future Forward Party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, has been cited with energising youths who grew up under military rule, creating a dedicated fan club that mobs the fresh-faced billionaire and clamours for selfies.

The Washington Post interviewed more than a dozen voters under 35, and most said they picked Thanathorn's party, while their parents and grandparents voted for the army party.

The generational split mirrors trends across the world, including in the United States and Britain, where the young have backed liberal causes while their elders have leaned conservative.

The hashtag appeared to be a response to an unusual statement from Thai King Vajiralongkorn ahead of the vote, in which he encouraged voters to pick "good people" as their leaders and stop "bad people" from obtaining power and causing turmoil.

Some voters, speaking on the condition of partial anonymity because criticism of the Thai monarchy is a crime punishable by jail time, rejected the paternalistic undertones of the message and said they wanted to make their own choices. Others have explicitly rejected taking political cues from their elders.