Thai election raises hopes for stability, economic reforms

[BANGKOK] Business leaders are notoriously fond of political stability and predictability – two commodities that are rare in the hurly-burly of Thai politics, and which could prove even more elusive than usual after this Sunday’s (May 14) general election is over.

There are about 70 political parties competing for the votes of over 52 million citizens, as the candidates jostle for 500 seats in Parliament’s Lower House.

Then there is a group of 250 senators, appointed by the military regime that staged that last coup in May 2014, that will have a big say in who becomes the next prime minister.