The opposition Pheu Thai party looks set to win most seats after nearly a decade of military-backed rule.
By Jonathan HeadFor the past few weeks an irresistibly catchy tune has been playing in neighbourhoods across Thailand, from campaign trucks sent out by the Pheu Thai party, the frontrunner in this Sunday's general election.
After Mr Thaksin's sister Yingluck won a landslide in the 2011 election, she too was disqualified by the courts, and her government ousted by a second coup. She is also living in exile. "For many years no other political force has been able to offer an alternative to Pheu Thai, in terms of policy offerings, in terms of charisma, in being able to communicate directly with the people", says Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, who has been making a study of the party's appeal.
On the second, Pheu Thai has built up an extensive network of local power-brokers, who are very influential in maintaining its popularity and getting the vote out. By contrast the two main conservative parties, formed by the last coup-leader Prayuth Chan-ocha and his allies, are relatively new, and do not have such strong local networks.
Pheu Thai is losing its policy edge too, as nearly every main party is now making a crowd-pleasing financial offering to the voters, neutralising the populist appeal that has been the key to Pheu Thai's long run of election wins.
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