Thailand’s junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha has had absolute executive power since toppling the government five years ago. Now he’s looking to keep his job after an election – something previous military leaders in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy have struggled to do.The former army chief, who turns 65 this week, seized power after a coup in May 2014 and has led the longest period of army rule in modern Thai history.
Dead dissidents dumped in a river, activists knotted up by the courts, and Big Brother-style internet laws – critics of Thailand's junta fear this week's election is poised to sharpen the dangers faced by those who disagree.Thais go to the polls on 24 March, in the first election since the 2014 coup that installed the generals in power.But it will be held under new rules established by a junta that has made clear it has no intention of leaving the political stage.Scores of dissident
More than 2.2 million Thais turned out for early voting – almost 90 percent of those registered – for Thailand's hotly anticipated national election, as the junta's main opposition predicted a cliff-hanger to the first poll in eight years.The 2011 election had a 55 percent turnout for advanced voting, bringing about 1.4 million early to the ballot box.
A cyber-security bill introduced just weeks ahead of Thailand’s first democratic election since a 2014 military coup has stoked concerns that it could be used as a weapon to stifle political dissent.Critics say the broad and vague language in the Cyber Security Bill – passed by the country’s unelected lawmakers on 28 February – may give the current military government powers to seize data and electronic equipment without proper legal oversight.
A billionaire ex-premier plays poker against the junta chief, who has extra cards tucked up his sleeve – satirical swipes at the country’s chaotic politics are peppering Thai art galleries and social media with elections just weeks away.Headache Stencil – dubbed "Thailand's Banksy" – has led the artistic charge against the powers that be.His latest exhibition "Thailand Casino" which runs through the 24 March election, takes a hatchet to the junta and the power plays o
A key party linked to Thailand's powerful Shinawatra clan was dissolved Thursday by a court, just weeks before a general election, over its ill-starred bid to front a princess as a candidate for premier.Thai Raksa Chart, which is tied to ex-premiers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, proposed Princess Ubolratana as its prime ministerial candidate if its bloc emerged with a lower house majority after the 24 March election.It was an unprecedented move in a constitutional monarchy where royal
Singapore Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will aim to strike a delicate balance in Monday’s budget: preaching fiscal prudence while doling out more social spending ahead of elections that could come as early as this year.While not expected to be as headline-grabbing as last year – when Heng flagged a hike in the goods-and-services tax (GST) – the 2019 budget will cover a range of familiar policy priorities.
Thailand's constitutional court on Thursday said it would hear a case to dissolve the party which proposed a princess for prime minister, an ill-fated candidacy which threatens to sink the election strategy of the powerful Shinawatra clan.The Thai Raksa Chart party nominated Princess Ubolratana for premier last Friday, a bombshell move bringing Thai royalty to frontline politics for the first time since the 1932 establishment of a constitutional monarchy.Hours later the princess's b
On 24 March this year, at long last, Thais will finally be able to head to the polls to elect a government after more than four years of military rule. The current ruling military junta – also known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NPCO) led by Prayut Chan-o-cha came into power in 2014 after it carried out a coup against the then caretaker government led by Yingluck Shinawatra. Ever since seizing power, the military junta promised to return the country to proper democracy.
2018 proved to be a tumultuous year for the region. Some ASEAN countries faced major challenges. For example, Indonesia was struck by disasters multiple times from earthquakes to a tragic plane crash to a devastating tsunami. Elsewhere, countries were navigating their respective democratic paths. Cambodia and Thailand saw its institutions challenged with Hun Sen winning an allegedly rigged election in Cambodia while Thailand’s junta continued to delay elections it promised to hold.
In the first half of 2019, a billion Asians will elect the next leaders of the region's two largest democracies. Half – 400 million in India, and 79 million in Indonesia – are from the millennial generation, born roughly between 1982 and 2001. Many will cast ballots for the first time.
Last year, economists predicted Southeast Asia would be blessed with a strong and vibrant 2018. For next year, they’re not quite so optimistic.Moderating economic growth and higher interest rates lie ahead. The Federal Reserve is set to keep everyone on edge as it navigates an even trickier interest-rate path in 2019, while the trade war between the U.S. and China is already hurting exports in the region.
