Thailand Pro-Democracy Candidates Push to Break Military Grip in Election

Millions of Thais are set to vote in nationwide elections Sunday that pit the country’s pro-military establishment, which has kept a grip on power for almost a decade, against pro-democracy opposition forces seeking to retake control.

Thailand has for years weathered political turmoil, becoming a symbol of democratic decline, according to foes of the government. After leading a 2014 coup, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army leader, oversaw the writing of a new constitution that was widely seen as a tool to give the military electoral legitimacy. It paved the way for Mr. Prayuth to become the country’s elected prime minister after the last national vote in 2019.