In an election that was billed as the most crucial one in several decades, Thailand’s reformist opposition has won the most seats and the largest share of votes. This is a stunning rejection of nearly a decade of military and military-backed rule. With more 99% of votes counted, the progressive ‘Move Forward’ party which has developed a huge following among young people and Pheu Thai, the populist party associated with exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has taken a very strong lead. Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army chief who first came to power in a coup in 2014, and who had ran a staunchly nationalist campaign, is nowhere even close to his opposition’s numbers. Over the past two decades, parties linked to the Shinawatra family campaign have repeatedly proved unbeatable at the ballot box, winning the most seats in every election since 2001.

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~PR.153~ED.99~ED.102~