Election weekend in Thailand

This weekend is the big election weekend in Thailand, which means that the streets are full of cars with speakers, posters, buses with fans for the different parties.

Thailand has a very challenging election ahead of them. The party leading in the polls may want to get the corruption convicted Thaksin back from his exile in Dubai. This party is supported by the red shirts who was demonstrating for months last year (until the military killed 92 of them and until they were promised a new election 2 months later). Now more than one year later comes the election.

The party currently in control was set in after the last military coup and was hence in charge when 92 people were killed during last years demonstrations in Bangkok. Noone has ever been put to trial for these killings. This same government is now in more or less open war with Cambodia due to a few square kilometres of land in the border area.

Thailand is a very fragile 'democracy' - I would argue that it is not a democracy, since the military simply changes the government when they don't like the results of the elections. Politicians are often killed on open street, and the results of the police investigations conveniently always run out of any subjects. Most media, including newspapers and TV stations are highly controlled by certain parts of the political scene.

Election also means that no alcohol is sold or served anywhere in Thailand for 2 days. The thirsty tourists are desperately trying to find a beer ;o).

Today's image is of a funny sign for an Australian bar in Bangkok ;o)