New party decimates military-backed coalition in Thailand

Thailand’s progressive Move Forward Party claimed victory in the country’s election on Monday after a stunning result that decimated military-backed parties, which have ruled the kingdom for nearly a decade. A massive surge for Move Forward (MFP) in Sunday’s ballot left it on course to be the biggest party, followed by its rival opposition — the Pheu Thai movement of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Thai voters turned out in record numbers to deliver a brutal verdict on former coup leader Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who has been blamed for economic stagnation and a crackdown on rights.