The humiliation of Thailand’s regime is a boost for Asian democracy

Rigging Thai ballots keeps getting harder. The first time the country’s army-backed regime deigned to hold an election, in 2019, it took an outrageous gerrymander, a stacked electoral system and the mass disqualification of its democratic opponents to prevent them, narrowly, from winning a majority. On May 14th, despite facing many of the same obstacles, Thailand’s pro-democracy parties could not be denied. They trounced the regime of Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army chief who seized power in 2014, winning 313 of the 500 seats available. Pro-military parties—despite their unfair advantages—won only 76.