Student-led protest group the Ratsadon launched their “Vote for Change” campaign to call for a fair election and unity among pro-democracy parties.
The Election Commission announced on Tuesday that the next general election is set for May 14.
The protest group, led by human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, said in a statement on Wednesday that even though the government of General Prayut Chan-o-cha was dissolved, remnants from the 2014 coup leader’s regime are still in place within the junta-drafted charter.
This includes the junta-appointed Senate’s power to vote for a prime minister, the junta’s 20-year national strategy and the Election Commission (EC) which is being used as a political tool.
Therefore, the pro-democracy protest group said the upcoming election is crucial for eradicating the Prayut regime and its dictatorial legacies.
The group called for a free and fair election and for the people to help monitor political parties’ campaigns and EC’s operations to prevent election fraud.
They called for political parties on the “democratic side” to work together in order to beat the “tyrannical side” at the election and later form a majority government.
If the democratic side won, they also called for the new government to rewrite the constitution to reform the economic system, justice system, and royal institution.
Additional report by Erich Parpart
