After almost five years under military rule, the electorate will tomorrow cast their votes in the first general election in eight years. It won't be a vote that will transform the country into genuine civilian-led democratic rule, but the start of a process that can help pave the way for the rebuilding of a true democracy.
After the promulgation of the 1997 "People's Constitution", Thailand was seen as a beacon of democracy in Southeast Asia. Over the past 12 years, that image has been diminished by two military coups and the supreme laws sponsored by the coup makers.
Notwithstanding the outcome of this election, Thailand will still largely be under the shadow of the military regime, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Similarly to Myanmar's constitution that gives the military representatives a 25% quota in parliament, the current Thai charter allows Gen Prayut to handpick all 250 senators, six of whom are representatives of the military and police force. The senators will have unprecedented power to join a vote in parliament for the selection of two prime ministers during their five-year term.
The constitution also makes it possible for a non-MP candidate such as Gen Prayut to be nominated for prime minister. It also enables the regime to produce a so-called 20-year national strategy that will stand as a straitjacket for elected governments when it comes to implementing their policies.
The new election system also makes it hard for major parties to win by a landslide and form a majority government.
As the prospects for democracy will still be shaky after the poll, one has to bear in mind that this election is hardly a free and fair contest. Months before the NCPO lifted its long-held political ban last December, freedom of expression had been highly suppressed. All political parties had been barred from engaging in political activities while Gen Prayut, now a prime ministerial candidate, had been able to hold a series of mobile cabinet meetings, seen by critics as electioneering.
And as the election campaign season came closer, executives of anti-junta parties were slapped with criminal lawsuits initiated by the NCPO, merely for their criticisms of the regime.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission (EC) has rubbed salt into the wound. It has done little to probe complaints made against pro-junta parties while taking action against their rivals.
Anti-regime parties have pledged to revise the constitution and other laws in order to remove these and other undemocratic systems. Voters will make their decision tomorrow on whether they support this agenda.
The EC must make every vote count by ensuring that the entire election process is transparent and effective. For now, many still doubt its competency and impartiality.
More importantly, all political parties must respect the electorate's choice and play by the rules. No parties should try to hold the country hostage by calling for a coup or street protests in the way two key campaigners of the pro-junta Action Coalition for Thailand Party implied in their public messages over the past few days.
The lacklustre performance of the military regime, especially with its reform and reconciliation pledges, along with its authoritarian approach, has proven that the coup has done more harm than good to the country's social, economic and political development. Rebuilding democracy and putting an end to the regime's embedded influence will be an uphill task. But tomorrow's vote will mark the beginning of this process.
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