One reason Thailand is not and was not a democratic country

Wikipedia describes democracy as "a small number of related forms of government. The fundamental features of democracies include government based on majority rule and the consent of the governed, the existence of free and fair elections, the protection of political minorities, respect for basic human rights, equality before the law, due process, and political pluralism"

If I follow this description, Thailand might not even have a real "democracy" or have been a democratic country at all!! On a ground of free and fair election alone, could you consider votes come from voters that accept money from politician(s) to vote a free and fair election? For me, HELL NO!!

If you're still confused, let me tell you, Thai politicians buy vote. This has happened for so many elections in the past despite how good the constitution is. This has happened in EVERY part of Thailand but pin point to the rural area. So when politician claims "he protects democracy", it's never happened. Because how they've become senators, ministers or even prime minister was not democratic and there was no democracy for him to protect in the first place.

Buying vote will not disappear from Thailand any time soon as long as Thai people prioritized money before their rights. Accepting money to vote has become a custom to many Thais. There's a say "no money no vote" to describe this behavior of rural voters.

Elected government didn't come from true people. Therefore, they didn't do everything for the people. When the governments didn't do the good for the people but for their own sake, elected or dictated feel much the same.

So next time you hear we are democratic country, think hard and long.

By the way, many articles on the web don't recommend Wikipedia site as a good source for research.