Thai General Election: First general election after 2014 military coup set to begin

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Thais go to the polls on Sunday in the first general election since the military coup of 2014. CGTN's Tony Cheng reports on the final day of campaigning that saw all the major parties holding rallies, including the party backed by the military, whose pick for Prime Minister is the man who led the military coup in 2014.

The campaigning has been intense and enthusiastic.

This election marks the crucial step between military and civilian government.

But has it been fair? The campaigning took place under strict controls imposed by the military and the military government has been accused of using its resources to benefit its own candidates.

OMAR NUNARNUN ELECTION MONITOR, "WE WATCH" "Without doubt, it hasn't been free and it hasn't been fair. At the beginning, the incumbent government had a lot of benefits ahead of them and a lot of other parties had to do a lot of work just to get equal."

But with a very high turnout predicted, have the military managed to persuade enough voters that they should stay in control?

TONY CHENG BANGKOK "There's a crowd gathering in downtown Bangkok for the last rally of Phalang Pracharat. They're the party that was formed last year with the backing of the military, and their pick for prime minister is General Prayut, and the big issue of this election, is whether he will be returned to power."

When the show finally got underway, a lively atmosphere, but still some empty seats.

Phalang Pracharat rallies have been poorly attended in the provinces, suggesting they may not have the support they need.

But General Prayut arrived to a hero's welcome, as he fought his way to the stage.

PRAYUT CHAN-O-CHA, COUP LEADER PHALANG PRACHARAT PARTY PM CANDIDATE "Thank you to all Thais across the country who cooperated with me in the past five years. I am always happy to see people in the provinces. I will do my best."

The party expected to attract the most votes is Phue Thai.

But in this election, victory is not enough.

In order to pick their own prime minister and overcome the military selected upper house, they will need at least two thirds of the vote.

SUDARAT KEYURAPHAN PHEU THAI PARTY PM CANDIDATE "March 24 is the day that we all have to go to vote and must only vote for the Pheu Thai Party to win a landslide (victory)."

And what of the Youth Vote? The Future Forward Party has captured the attention of many first-time voters with a platform of reform policies. If they perform well at the polls, they might be the key to unlocking the political deadlock of the past. Tony Cheng, CGTN, Bangkok.