This is the home stretch. In the back of a red convertible Jeep, opposition leaders in Thailand marched Saturday, May 12, through the streets of Bangkok, to call one last time voters to eject the pro-army government, on the eve of the parliamentary elections.

Polls show incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former coup general in office since 2014, losing to the reformist camp embodied by the Pheu Thai and Move Forward parties.

But in a kingdom accustomed to military and judicial interventions in the democratic process, fears remain that the military will cling to power despite the promise, renewed Thursday, not to repeat a coup.

Sunglasses and white jacket, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, favorite of the vote, greeted his supporters, at the head of a procession of dozens of vehicles. Alongside Srettha Thavisin – Pheu Thai's other candidate for prime minister – she crisscrossed the capital, from the Democracy Monument to the centre's giant shopping malls.

His supporters waved flags while chanting: "Pheu Thai tidal wave", the credo of the party that needs a large majority in the National Assembly to circumvent electoral rules favorable to the army.

The first vote since the 2020 pro-democracy protests

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, reappeared on stage Friday in front of about 10,000 supporters for the first time after giving birth to her second child on May 1. "It's only been 12 days, I'm a little tired but it's okay (...) I'm so excited," the 36-year-old told AFP.

This political novice is the latest incarnation of the wealthy family that has polarized Thai politics for more than 20 years – both adored by popular circles in the North and Northeast, but hated by Bangkok's traditional elites.

His father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck were both removed from power in a coup in 2006 and 2014 respectively.

Sunday's vote is the first nationwide since the massive pro-democracy protests of 2020, which called for a major overhaul of the monarchy, a taboo subject in Thailand where King Maha Vajiralongkorn enjoys a quasi-deity status.

These protests, which have decreased in intensity under the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and the repression of the authorities, have nevertheless fueled the dynamism of Move Forward, the other major opposition force.

The young leader of the movement Pita Limjaroenrat (42), credited with a breakthrough in the polls during the campaign, also made a tour of Bangkok on Saturday, on an open-top truck. "Give the younger generation the opportunity to govern the country. We will take care of the older generation," he said.

Four million first-time voters

His calls to rewrite the 2017 constitution, deemed favorable to the military and the monarchy, have earned Move Forward recurring attacks from the conservative camp, self-proclaimed guarantor of institutions.

Under the banner of the United Thai Nation (UTN) party, former general Prayut Chan-O-Cha, 69, defends his experience, saying he is the only candidate who can save the kingdom from chaos.

But the leader, with exceptional longevity for Thailand, faces criticism related to sluggish economic growth and the decline of fundamental freedoms, which sometimes come from his former majority.

A long-time ally of Prayut Chan-O-Cha, whom he rubbed shoulders with in the army and then in the outgoing government, 77-year-old former general Prawit Wongsuwan hopes to rally voters around his name. His party, Palang Pracharat (PPRP), is seen as a potential arbiter for the negotiations that will follow the election.

From the hilly regions of the north to the paradisiacal beaches of the south, 95,000 polling stations are due to open Sunday at 8:00 (1:00 GMT), until 17:00 (10:00 GMT).

Some 52 million Thais are called to vote, including four million first-time voters.

With AFP

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