Thai election may be overshadowed by old animosity between establishment and opponents

The general election in Thailand on May 14 will bring new faces into the fray but is likely to be overshadowed by old animosity between the military-royalist establishment and popular opposition parties challenging the status quo.

The kingdom's confrontation has shaped a tumultuous two decades of street protests, judicial intervention and coups that were largely halting in recent years, largely due to COVID 19 curbs, but could well play out again.

The primary election contest will be between the rural-based political juggernaut founded by telecoms tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra and the conservative, Bangkok-based political elite dominated by pro-military forces that have ruled since the last coup in 2014.

This could be due to a conflict with your ad blocker or security software. There is a list of permitted sites that include jp and piano.io. If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this FAQ. We apologize for the inconvenience.