From Busadee Santipitaks
The article "Thailand's military is big election winner" written by Paul Chambers and published in the Nikkei Asian Review on 4 April 2019 is a disappointment and misguided. The author gave his own one-sided view and ignored the efforts made by the current Thai administration to end the protracted political division that has hampered Thailand for over a decade and to move the nation forward.
The article simply ignored the comprehensive reforms undertaken by the government to strengthen checks and balances and enhance accountability so as to achieve sustainable democracy.
Indeed, much effort was made to encourage the participation of all stakeholders throughout the whole process from constitution drafting to the holding of elections in March.
The high election turnout of 75% reflects the Thai public's support for and confidence in the electoral process. Assertions that the government manipulated the election outcome are therefore baseless. Dire predictions about the future are also not grounded in fact and could sow division within the country.
Busadee Santipitaks is Director-General of the Department of Information and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
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