Understanding the election results in Thailand

A joint session of Thailand’s parliament on Tuesday 22 August, selected the Pheu Thai Party candidate Srettha Thavisin to become the next prime minister—a decision that was endorsed by the King of Thailand. This comes after 3 months of deadlock, after the progressive and union-supported Move Forward Party was prevented from forming government. On the same day that Thavisin was elected Prime Minister, former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand after 15 years of self-imposed exile, only to be arrested at the airport upon arrival.Junya Lek Yimprasert, the founding member of ACT4DEM – Action for Democracy on Thailand, and an activist who is in self-imposed exile in Finland, and she joins Accent of Women to help clarify these events in Thai politics.