BANGKOK -- Thai voters delivered a surprise victory to the progressive Move Forward Party on Sunday, a stunning rebuke of not only the country's incumbent military-linked rulers but also to a political establishment that ran elections based on personal patronages.
Move Forward's campaign challenged conventional wisdom about Thai politics and won in provinces previously thought to be impenetrable. The vote-rich north and northeast were long known to be loyal to the Pheu Thai party, while the conservative south was a stronghold for the Democrat Party and others in the ruling coalition.
