Rival parties open to cooperate against Thai junta

Bloomberg

Thailand’s two major political parties, which have battled viciously over the past decade, are open to joining hands after the next election to blunt the power of unelected officials.
In separate interviews last week, a top leader of the Pheu Thai party affiliated with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Democrat party head Abhisit Vejjajiva didn’t rule out an alliance after the election planned for February, if certain conditions were met. Thailand has been under military rule since a 2014 coup by former army chief Prayuth Chan-Ocha.
While any collaboration would be fragile, Pheu Thai and the Democrat party have a common interest in preventing unelected members of parliament from installing Prayuth or another military figure as premier after the vote. Under a constitution written after the last coup—Thailand has had about a dozen military takeovers since 1932—a 250-member Senate appointed by the junta will have a say in picking next prime minister.
“I am trying to persuade political parties to not support the NCPO leader in becoming the next prime minister after the election,” said Chaturon Chaisang, a prominent Pheu Thai member, referring to the National Council for Peace and Order, the official name of the junta. “I personally have not shut the door for working together with any other party, including the Democrats.”
Chaturon said he expects Pheu Thai to win the most seats in the election. Although it would be “very difficult” for Pheu Thai and the Democrats to join hands, he said, at the same time it would be challenging for a single party to gain a majority under the current electoral system.
“If one of the parties, any party, decides not to ally itself with any other parties, political parties might not be able to form a government,” Chaturon said. “That’s why I personally never say that we will never work together, or ally ourself with any party.”
Thaksin’s allies have won most seats in every election dating back to 2001, with the military or courts intervening to overturn the results on several occasions. Thaksin fled the country and has lived overseas since a 2008 conviction for abuse of power—a verdict he says was politically motivated.
Abhisit, who led Thailand from 2008 to 2011, said that the 250 senators should respect the will of the people in picking the prime minister. His Democrat party has finished second in every election it’s participated in since 1992, and he became prime minister only after parties in Thaksin’s ruling coalition switched sides in 2008 after protesters seized Bangkok’s international airport.