Thai's Go To The Polls On Sunday

On Sunday Thailand will go to the polls to elect the next Prime Minister which will be its 26th since 1932 ending centuries of rule by an absolute monarchy. In that time there have been 17 constitutions and 18 military coups not all of which have been successful. 2006 saw the Thai military remove former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Thai Rak Thai party from government.

Sunday’s election will be contested by Yingluck Shinawatra who is the younger sister of Thaksin Shinawatra.

Yingluck has pursued a corporate career, formerly as managing director of Advanced Info Service (AIS), the country's largest mobile phone operator, and managing director of SC Asset Company, a family-run real-estate firm.
She holds two degrees in politics: bachelors from Chiang Mai in north Thailand, and masters from Kentucky State University in the US.
On paper her experience in politics may seem insufficient but her primary political qualification seems to be her blood relations as the ninth child in a highly political family.

Supporters of Thai Rak Thai are know as Red Shirts who come from the rural north of Thailand occupying the lower rungs of the social economic ladder.

Opposing her is current Prime Minister Abhist Vejjajiva since 2008 upon his appointment to the office.

Distinctly upper-class, Mr Abhisit hails from a wealthy family of Thai-Chinese origin. Both his parents were medical professors.
He was born in the British city of Newcastle in August 1964 and educated at England's top public school, Eton. He then went on to gain a degree in politics, philosophy and economics (PPE) at Oxford University.
Mr Abhisit's support is drawn mainly from southern Thailand and from Bangkok's educated middle-classes. He has had less success in attracting the support of working class and rural Thais.

Mr. Abhisit’s supporters are know as Yellow Shirts

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) (Thai: พันธมิตรประชาชนเพื่อประชาธิปไตย) also called the National Liberation Alliance - กลุ่มพันธมิตรกู้ชาติ, Thai Patriots Network or the Yellow Shirts - เสื้อเหลือง - was originally a coalition of protesters against Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Prime Minister of Thailand.[1] Its leaders include media-mogul Sondhi Limthongkul and Major General Chamlong Srimuang. The PAD was a chief player in the Thailand political crisis of 2005 to 2006, the 2008 crisis, and the Cambodian–Thai border stand-off. The PAD consists of mainly of royalist upper and middle-class Bangkokians and Southerners, supported by the conservative factions of the Thai Army, some leaders of Democrat Party, and members of state-enterprise labor unions.[2][3]
The PAD was formed to lead demonstrations against the government of Thaksin Shinawatra. Two days after a military junta's 2006 military coup overthrew Thaksin's government, the PAD voluntarily dissolved after announcing that its goals had been accomplished.[4] The PAD re-established itself after Thaksin-affiliated parties, led by Samak Sundaravej's People's Power Party (PPP), won a plurality in the 2007 general election.