7 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

I thought voting compulsory in Thailand.  A fall from 75% to 66% shows a singular contempt for the law even if not a lack of optimism about whether the result would make any difference

If I recall correctly Australia has compulsory voting and fines can be assessed for non compliance. I'm all for it, in my country it is not uncommon for mid 40% turnouts to vote.

. If the election was rigged then the first people to complain would be the politicians who lost out. I can't see any of this, yet  posters on this forum say the election was rigged. But I guess they're just the  usual pathetic Thai bashers on this forum.  

15 hours ago, Thaiwrath said:

The way everything was weighted so heavily, to the advantage of the future PM (a.k.a. coup leader), it can hardly be called a 'resounding vote for democracy' !

True, but the seeds of change may have been sown. More people showing up to vote, paying attention to what is being promised, etc. The question is will it be too late? The likely winner (unless something very dramatic takes place) will probably eliminate any voice the people have and create a dictatorship if not stopped soon.