Ahead of the elections, changes to voting rules were widely seen as a way to give the junta the electoral advantage.
By Shibani Mahtani and Shibani Mahtani Reporter covering Southeast Asia Email Bio Follow Paritta Wangkiat March 24 at 9:51 AM BANGKOK — As polls opened Sunday morning in Thailand, a hashtag started trending on social media: #OldEnoughtoVoteOurselves.
The election will determine the make up of Thailand’s parliament, which has 500 elected seats. Those elected lawmakers and 250 unelected senators, appointed by the junta, will decide who becomes prime minister. 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.
Many voters confessed that they found the new procedures, where voters could only pick one candidate representing one party — previously there was the option to cast two votes, one for an individual candidate and one for a party — confusing. Some were also perplexed about how best to vote strategically to ensure pro-democracy forces are able to override the military’s advantages and form a government.
Thailand’s recent political history is marred by the memory of violent, bloody protests in its crowded capital Bangkok, a tourist hotspot.
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