1. Move Forward wins big
The Move Forward Party has over-performed expectations to win this election. At the time of writing, the Move Forward Party is expected to win both the popular vote and the largest number of seats in parliament. By convention, it now has the right to attempt to form a government; the party’s leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, has said he will now begin assembling a coalition.
Few expected that Move Forward would be able to overtake Pheu Thai. Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s parties in its various incarnations, from Thai Rak Thai to Pheu Thai, have won the largest number of seats in every single general election since 2001. For months, Pheu Thai had been predicting it would win a landslide victory. Now, it finds itself in the unfamiliar position of being the second-largest party in parliament.
How did this happen? Demographics certainly played a role, with a newer generation of voters swinging towards Move Forward. The party’s progressive positions on major policies, along with its strong party brand, solidified the support Future Forward received in 2019. At the same time, the time it took for Pheu Thai to clarify its ambiguous stance on a potential partnership with former government parties may have played a role in driving its supporters towards the straightforward Move Forward Party.
Ken Mathis Lohatepanont 
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