Thailand will hold its first general election Sunday since the military ousted the elected government in a coup nearly five years ago.
Thailand has a long history of cycling through elected governments that are then ousted by the army, which in time allows fresh elections.
Here's a look the key political events since Thailand's last general election.
July 3, 2011: The Pheu Thai Party led by Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, wins a landslide majority in the general election. Thaksin was ousted by a 2006 military coup and fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid serving a prison term for a conflict of interest conviction.
Aug. 5, 2011: The House of Representatives elects Yingluck to become Thailand's first female prime minister.
June 2012: Yingluck's ruling party pushes legislation to promote national reconciliation with the stated goal of ending the sometimes violent political conflict that has roiled the country since the 2006 coup. Critics charge it is meant to help Thaksin escape justice and return to Thailand as a free man.
April 2013: The Constitutional Court rules that Yingluck's government cannot make amendments to the 2007 constitution, which was enacted by an interim government that had been installed by the 2006 coup.
Nov. 1, 2013: Mass rally held against bill proposing amnesty for political offenses committed since 2006. The protesters claim its main purpose is to vacate the conflict of interest conviction against Thaksin.
Nov. 24, 2013: As many as 100,000 anti-government protesters rally in Bangkok, demanding that Yingluck's government step down.
Nov. 29, 2014: Veteran Democrat Party politician Suthep Thaugsuban forms the People's Democratic Reform Committee to demand the dissolution of Yingluck's government and the establishment of an unelected "people's council" to reform the country.
Nov. 30, 2013-Jan. 31, 2014: The anti-government protests become increasingly violent, with pitched street battles against the police and forced occupations of government offices and installations that practically immobilized government functions. The army, which used armed force in 2010 to quash aggressive protests by supporters of Thaksin, does not intervene to defend the government.
Dec. 9, 2013: Yingluck dissolves the House of Representatives and calls early elections for Feb. 2, 2014.
Dec. 21, 2013: The opposition Democrat Party announces it will boycott the elections so that reforms of the sort demanded by the protesters can first be enacted.
Feb. 2, 2014: A general election is held but disrupted by anti-government protesters who prevent polling from being held in all areas.
March 21, 2014: The Constitutional Court rules the February election invalid because voting did not take place on the same day nationwide in violation of a constitutional clause. There had been fresh balloting in March in several provinces where protesters had prevented voting on the original election date.
May 7, 2014: The Constitutional Court removes Yingluck and several ministers of her caretaker government for abuse of power in connection with the 2011 transfer of a high-ranking civil servant.
May 8, 2014: National Anti-Corruption Commission finds Yingluck guilty of criminal negligence for implementing a state rice-buying subsidy scheme.
May 22, 2014: Army Commander Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha stages a coup, ousting the government, abrogating the constitution and outlawing political gatherings. He later becomes prime minister in addition to heading the ruling junta.
Aug 7, 2016: A national referendum approves a new constitution drafted under the auspices of the ruling junta, along with new rules governing how the prime minister is chosen. Campaigning against the proposed charter had been banned.
Oct. 13, 2016: King Bhumibol Adulyadej dies at the age of 88, and a year-long mourning period is declared. He is succeeded by his son, who becomes King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
April. 6, 2017: The new constitution takes effect.
Oct. 26, 2017: Cremation rites are held for the late king.
Jan. 23, 2019: The Election Commission announces the general election will be held on March 24, after several earlier target dates had been pushed back.
Feb. 8, 2019: The Thaksin-affiliated Thai Raksa Chart Party registers the king's elder sister, Princess Ubolratana Mahidol, as its candidate for prime minister, breaking with the idea that members of the royal family are above politics. That same day, the king issues a royal order calling her registration inappropriate and contrary to the constitution.
March 8, 2019: The Constitutional Court dissolves the Thai Raksa Chart Party for registering the princess as its candidate for prime minister.
March 24, 2019: Thailand is scheduled to hold general election.
DETROIT (AP) — The Oakland Athletics no longer have to wonder where they'll play the next few seasons. That won't make the long goodbye any easier.
The A's reacted to the announcement that this will be their last year in Oakland with a mixture of sadness and relief.
“At least as a player, you know where you’re headed,” outfielder Seth Brown said Friday before a game against the Tigers in Detroit. “There’s obviously a lot of moving parts, a lot of stuff we’re not privy to, so it’s just been kind of a waiting game on our end. Where are we going to go? Where are we going to be? So I think just having that knowledge -- at least we know where we’re going to be playing next year.”
Vivek Ranadivé, who owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, and Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher announced Thursday that the A’s will temporarily relocate to West Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for at least three seasons. The A's are moving to Las Vegas after a new ballpark is constructed.
The River Cats, who are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants, will continue to play at the same facility.
Fisher was unable to reach an agreement with Oakland city officials on extending the lease at Oakland Coliseum, which expires at the end of this season. The A's have played in the city since 1968.
“There's direction now, which we've talked a lot about,” Oakland A's manager Mark Kotsay said. “We've got time to kind of reflect on what this really means from an organizational standpoint, the history that we've had in Oakland, with this being now the final season. There's a lot of emotion that goes behind this.”
It will not only cause some upheaval for the players and staff but also members of the organization that work behind the scenes.
“At the end of the day, we know where we're going to be for the next three seasons after the finish this year and that in itself gives a little bit of stability,” Kotsay said. “At the same time, in the present, it's challenging in certain ways to think about the finality of this organization in Oakland.”
Sacramento will be a much smaller environment to house a major league team. Ranadivé said the River Cats venue currently seats 16,000 when counting the stands, the lawn behind center field and standing room only.
First baseman Ryan Noda is concerned with the facilities. He's hopeful that significant upgrades will be made, much like the Toronto Blue Jays did at Buffalo's Triple-A facility. The Blue Jays played at Buffalo's Sahlen Field in 2020 in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New walls, new dugouts, new locker rooms — everything they needed to become a big league stadium,” said Noda, who played some games in Sacramento as a minor leaguer. “As long as we can do something like that, then it'll be all right. But it's definitely going to be different than playing in stadiums that hold 40,000 people.”
Kotsay is confident the upgrades will occur.
“I know it will be of major league baseball quality,” he said. “It's has to be of major league baseball quality. I know the Players Association will make sure that takes place, as they did in Buffalo.”
For the rest of this season, the A's will have to deal with small home crowds and disappointed fans.
“We’re sad for the fans, the diehard fans, who always come to our games, always support us, always support the boys wearing the jersey,” Noda said.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, center, shakes hands John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics, before the start of a news conference where Fisher announced his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4 2024.The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, announces that his team will leave Oakland after this season and play temporarily at a minor league park, during a news conference in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The A's announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Sutter Health Park, home of the Triple A team Sacramento River Cats, is shown in West Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Oakland Athletics announced the decision to play at the home of the Sacramento River Cats from 2025-27 with an option for 2028 on Thursday after being unable to reach an agreement to extend their lease in Oakland during that time. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
Oakland Athletics manager Mark Kotsay walks to the dugout after making a pitching change during the eighth inning of the team's baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
