Violence on the streets of Thailand, on the day of the general elections yesterday, serves as a potent reminder that these elections are flawed and the country is in a fragile state.
The main opposition party, the Democrat Party, has chosen not to contest and in all likelihood a new government will not be formed much as incumbent Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra would have hoped. Additional polls held to break this stalemate would mean more uncertainty and a staggering loss to the exchequer.
Shinawatra had, for all practical purposes, held the key to igniting Thailand’s engines towards success till she faltered and opted to allow her brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister currently in exile on charges of corruption, to interfere in the administration of the state.
Thaksin is a deeply divisive figure in his country and the proposed amendment of a controversial bill, which would have led to amnesty for people like himself, has resulted in his sister losing control in office and slowly threatening to sink the country into further chaos.
The current turn of events leaves the Thai people staring at all sorts of possibilities — an army coup being one of them as the legal deadline for forming a government is six months since election day.
Thaksin’s vote base lies in the rural areas and this does not sit well with those who are capable of wielding political clout in parliament, the military and monarchy. His clout, however, cannot be discounted since his party has won every election since 2001.
A vicious cycle of political gamesmanship could now ensue given that if Yingluck is prevented from taking office then it will be the turn of her supporters to hold the country’s operations to ransom.
The two warring factions need to sit across the table and draw up a blueprint for reforms. Ideally this should have happened before the polls were conducted, but should results be declared null and void then this option must be considered.
Constructive dialogue is definitely a better option than organised chaos.
