Thailand goes to the polls today amid fears of weak, unstable govt
Whatever party wins, Prayuth or Thaksin’s side, both govts will be weak and unstable. The govt can collapse within a year or a year and a half and we might have a new election quite soon Prajak Kongkirati, Political science lecturer
bangkok — Thailand’s election on Sunday is likely to produce a weak, unstable government whether it’s a civilian or military-backed party that cobbles together a coalition, setting off a new phase of uncertainty in the country.
The election is Thailand’s first since its military seized power from an elected government in May 2014. It was the conservative establishment’s third major attempt by either military or legal coup to eradicate the influence of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha, who as army chief led the 2014 coup, is hoping to stay in power with a hybrid political system that relies on an appointed senate and a 20-year national strategic plan to limit the power of political parties not aligned with the military.
“It will be unstable,” said Prajak Kongkirati, a political science lecturer at Thailand’s Thammasat University. “Whatever party wins, Prayuth or Thaksin’s side, both governments will be weak and unstable. The government can collapse within a year or a year and a half and we might have a new election quite soon.”
Critics say the new military-designed political system is intrinsically unstable because it is not accepted by all sides and will be the beginning of a new round of struggle in Thailand.
The country’s prime minister will not be directly elected by its 51 million voters. Instead, 750 lawmakers — 500 from an elected lower house of parliament and 250 from a junta-appointed Senate — will decide by simple majority. The prime minister does not have to be a member of parliament. —