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Thais vote overwhelmingly for democracy parties, reject military

Thai voters rejected nearly a decade of military-aligned rule, backing pro-democracy parties in the election.

The Move Forward Party (MFP), fueled by the energy of youth-led protests, secured the most votes. Led by charismatic Pita Limjaroenrat, the MFP aims to reform royal insult laws, potentially challenging the royalist-military elite. However, concerns remain that the election result could be thwarted, given Thailand’s history of coups and court interference.

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BANGKOK, THAILAND — Thai voters have delivered a clear rejection of nearly a decade of military-aligned rule, election results showed Monday, backing two pro-democracy opposition parties.

The Move Forward Party (MFP), the newest force in Thai politics that channelled the energy of youth-led pro-democracy protests in 2020, secured the most votes.

Led by charismatic 42-year-old Pita Limjaroenrat, the MFP wants to reform Thailand’s strict royal insult laws, setting up a potential clash with the kingdom’s powerful royalist-military elite.

Thais went to the polls in large numbers on Sunday after a campaign pitting a young generation yearning for change against the conservative elite embodied by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha.

“I feel like my country has (hope) for the future,” Beam, 29, a personal assistant in Bangkok who voted for the MFP and took part in the 2020 protests, told AFP on Monday.

“People have really opened their eyes.”

But in a kingdom where coups and court orders have often trumped the ballot box, she expressed the fears of many that the result may yet be thwarted.

With ballots counted from 99 per cent of polling stations, Election Commission data showed MFP on 14 million in the popular vote followed by Pheu Thai on 10.6 million.

The United Thai Nations party, led by Prayut — the ex-army chief who seized power in a 2014 coup — was a distant third on 4.6 million.

While not declaring victory, Pita said late Sunday that a coalition deal is “definitely on the cards”.

But in a sign of the potential flashpoints ahead, Pita repeated a promise to reform the lese majeste law that invokes harsh prison terms for insulting the monarchy.

This was an issue once deemed untouchable in Thai politics, and which rival opposition Pheu Thai shied from during the campaign.

“No matter what, we will push for royal lese majeste law reform,” Pita told reporters on Sunday.

‘Work together’

Pheu Thai, which has been the most popular party for two decades, has been hoping for a landslide win that would allow it to lead a coalition.

Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of party patriarch and exiled billionaire Thaksin, congratulated MFP on their success and signalled cooperation in a potential future government.

“We can work together,” she said.

And despite their success, MFP and Pheu Thai still face many hurdles to secure power, due to a junta-scripted 2017 constitution.

The new premier will be chosen jointly by the 500 elected MPs in the lower house, plus 250 senate members appointed by Prayut’s junta.

This stacks the deck in the army’s favour.

Adding to the uncertainty, rumours are already swirling that MFP could be dissolved by court order — the same fate that befell its predecessor Future Forward Party after it performed unexpectedly well in the 2019 elections.

The Election Commission is not expected to officially confirm the final number of seats won by each party for several weeks.

But early Monday it forecast MFP and Pheu Thai to each win 112 out of a total of 400 constituency seats. MFP would then likely secure a greater number of the remaining 100 seats to be allocated to parties on a proportional basis.

Protest legacy

This election was the first since the 2020 protest that demanded curbs on the power and spending of Thailand’s king.

The demonstrations petered out as Covid-19 curbs were imposed and dozens of leaders were arrested, but their energy fuelled growing support for the more radical opposition MFP.

“Younger generations these days care about their rights and they will come out to vote,” Pita told reporters as he arrived to vote on Sunday.

MFP sought millennial and Gen Z voters, who make up nearly half the 52 million-strong electorate, but early results indicated their inroads across all demographics.

The party swept Bangkok, capturing every district but one.

It is predicted to also take districts in the staunchly Pheu Thai northern territories — even flipping Thaksin Shinawatra’s home district near the northern city Chiang Mai.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore hangs 14th drug convict since last year

Singapore executed Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted of drug trafficking, amid a resumption of executions in 2022. Another woman prisoner, Saridewi Djamani, faces execution.

Amnesty International urged Singapore to halt the executions, questioning the deterrent effect of the death penalty.

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26 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore on Wednesday hanged a local man convicted of drug trafficking, officials said, two days before the scheduled execution of the first woman prisoner in the city-state in nearly 20 years.

Mohd Aziz bin Hussain, convicted and sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking “not less than 49.98 grams” (1.76 ounces) of heroin, was executed at Changi Prison, the Central Narcotics Bureau said in a statement.

The 57-year-old was the 14th convict sent to the gallows since the government resumed executions in March 2022 after a two-year pause during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hussain’s previous appeals against his conviction and sentence had been dismissed, and a petition for presidential clemency was also denied.

A woman drug convict, 45-year-old Saridewi Djamani, is scheduled to be hanged on Friday, according to the local rights group Transformative Justice Collective (TJC).

She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, Djamani would be the first woman executed in Singapore since 2004, when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, according to TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

Singapore has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws — trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis or over 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the executions, saying there was no evidence the death penalty acted as a deterrent to crime.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

Singapore, however, insists that the death penalty has helped make it one of Asia’s safest countries.

Among those hanged since last year was Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, whose execution sparked a global outcry, including from the United Nations and British tycoon Richard Branson, because he was deemed to have a mental disability.

— AFP

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AFP

Singapore to execute first woman in nearly 20 years: rights groups

Singapore set to execute two drug convicts, including first woman in 20 years, despite rights groups’ calls to stop.

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25 July 2023

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SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE — Singapore is set to hang two drug convicts this week, including the first woman to be sent to the gallows in nearly 20 years, rights groups said Tuesday, while urging the executions be halted.

Local rights organisation Transformative Justice Collective (TJC) said a 56-year-old man convicted of trafficking 50 grams (1.76 ounces) of heroin is scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday at the Southeast Asian city-state’s Changi Prison.

A 45-year-old woman convict who TJC identified as Saridewi Djamani is also set to be sent to the gallows on Friday. She was sentenced to death in 2018 for trafficking around 30 grams of heroin.

If carried out, she would be the first woman to be executed in Singapore since 2004 when 36-year-old hairdresser Yen May Woen was hanged for drug trafficking, said TJC activist Kokila Annamalai.

TJC said the two prisoners are Singaporeans and their families have received notices setting the dates of their executions.

Prison officials have not answered emailed questions from AFP seeking confirmation.

Singapore imposes the death penalty for certain crimes, including murder and some forms of kidnapping.

It also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis and 15 grams of heroin can result in the death penalty.

At least 13 people have been hanged so far since the government resumed executions following a two-year hiatus in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rights watchdog Amnesty International on Tuesday urged Singapore to halt the impending executions.

“It is unconscionable that authorities in Singapore continue to cruelly pursue more executions in the name of drug control,” Amnesty’s death penalty expert Chiara Sangiorgio said in a statement.

“There is no evidence that the death penalty has a unique deterrent effect or that it has any impact on the use and availability of drugs.

“As countries around the world do away with the death penalty and embrace drug policy reform, Singapore’s authorities are doing neither,” Sangiorgio added.

Singapore insists that the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent.

— AFP

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