Three years ago, Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul demonstrated on the front lines for democracy, alongside thousands of other young Thais, facing water cannons and tear gas from the police.
The protest movement rocked the kingdom in 2020 calling for a sweeping reform of the monarchy, a taboo subject in the country where King Maha Vajiralongkorn enjoys quasi-deity status.
But the pandemic and a wave of arrests that targeted protest leaders, including Panusaya, extinguished the anger that filled the streets of the capital Bangkok.
The legislative elections of May 14 offer a new opportunity for pro-democracy activists to make their voices heard, in a political context still padlocked by the conservative elites, reluctant in the face of the reforms demanded.
Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, 24, nicknamed “Rung”, was one of the leading figures of the movement. His commitment earned him twelve charges of lèse-majesté and periods in prison.
“This election will be very important. It could be a game-changer,” she told AFP, while preparing for a master’s degree in political science at a Bangkok university.
“If the pro-democracy camp wins, we will have many options to stop the appointment of senators (deemed favorable to the army, editor’s note), write a new Constitution and change several laws”, she continues.
Some four million young Thais, aged 18 or over, will vote for the first time in May.
Many of them want to oust incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who came to power following a 2014 coup, Rung said. But without being naive.
Complex electoral rules favor a candidate close to the army, an institution targeted by protesters, behind a dozen coups since the end of the monarchy in 1932.
“The authorities in this country are selfish. Those in power are obsessed with their power. They want to hold on no matter what,” the activist continues.
In this locked climate, she fears that the opposition parties will not have the courage to address the reforms demanded during the demonstrations.
“We know that all our expectations will not be met by this election,” said Panusaya.
Starting with the revocation of article 112 on defamation against the king and his family, a severe law whose use has been misused to stifle any political protest according to its detractors.
Even Move Forward, the self-proclaimed new generation party, has taken a low profile on the issue, saying “it was not the main campaign objective.”
The 2020 protest also highlighted a clash of generations between more educated youth and conservative parents, attached to the king.
“I don’t think the new generations are going to lose hope and not vote. They are going to keep fighting,” said Noppakorn Sakkamart, a 24-year-old analyst who took part in the 2020 protests.
Young Thais want more meritocracy in one of the most unequal systems in Asia, said Pooripat Buakong, a 20-year-old student from Bangkok.
“My father was worried that I was too involved in politics (…) He said: the government and politics do not have to be changed”, he says.
Recognizable by its orange color, Move Forward seems best placed with the youngest.
This party was born from the ashes of Future Forward, dissolved after winning more than six million votes for its first election in 2019.
He is trailing the main opposition movement, Pheu Thai, in the lead in the polls, far ahead of the pro-army conservative camp.
New lawsuits could break its momentum, if the institutions see their power threatened, fears Thitinan Pongsudhirak, professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
“One scenario would be the dissolution of an important party (…) Pheu Thai or Move Forward,” he told AFP.
03/05/2023 11:34:15 – Bangkok (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
