We got back to Thailand just a couple of days before their national election.  The polling was today (July 3) and the government had forced a ban on all alcohol sales since the night before (not that it has a lot of impact on us but some of the backpackers are grumpy) so that the people are all fresh to get out and vote. More than 90% of the eligible population is expected to vote, which makes me a little sad when I read about the anemic turnout we get in our elections back home.

Thailand is very divided politically and in previous years protests and unrest have popped up in Bangkok depending on who was in power, and who was unhappy at the time.  The Thai people we talk to tell us that no matter who wins 1/2 of the country will be unhappy with the result.

It is expected that no party will win enough seats to form a majority government, so they expect that it will take a couple of weeks of wrangling after the votes have been counted for someone to form a coalition government and then the people will decide if they are satisfied or not.  It is not expected to impact us at all, but it is interesting to watch how the political circus works in other countries – I guess at some level it is pretty much the same 🙂