Thailand’s opposition parties have secured a decisive victory in Sunday’s general election, crushing the military-backed parties that had been in power for five years. With all votes counted, the pro-democracy Pheu Thai party had won 136 of the 350 seats in the lower house, while the military-backed Palang Pracharath had only 97.
The results mark a major shift in the country’s political landscape, with the military-backed parties that had governed since a 2014 coup losing their majority.
The election, which had been delayed several times since the 2014 coup, was widely seen as a referendum on the military’s influence in Thailand. The results will likely see the military-backed parties out of power and the country returning to a more democratic government.
The opposition Pheu Thai party is led by exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose parties have won every election in Thailand since 2001. He is currently living in self-exile in Dubai, but is expected to return to Thailand in the near future.