As Pita seeks green light, Thailand’s economic outlook hinges on its achieving political stability

NEARLY three weeks have passed since Thailand’s general election was held, yet the country is still nowhere close to finding out who its next prime minister will be.

The May 14 polls were historic for many reasons. What was not unexpected was the record number of voters who turned up at the ballot boxes to deliver a firm rejection of the military-backed establishment that had been in power since a controversial coup in 2014.

Those votes gave the progressive Move Forward party a mightily impressive haul of 152 seats in the 500-seat Lower House, with Pheu Thai – the main opposition party – a close second with 141 seats. Put together, these two parties were streets ahead of what the party led by the incumbent prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha managed, which was a less-than-stellar 36 seats.