The coup-led government of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha is looking to tap into yet another source of valuable votes after announcing plans to enact a law allowing same-sex civil partnerships by the end of this year.

The move, if it does materialise, would mean Thailand becomes one of the very few countries in the region to recognise the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The country would be second only to Vietnam, which took this step in 2015, and ahead of Taiwan, where the country's highest court gave legislators a timeframe of two-years from 2017 to study a law before proposing it to the parliament for approval.

With this government likely to keep its promise of holding elections in February 2019, the LGBT population could be a valuable source of voters, and this is something that all political parties have been looking into. The LGBT community could provide a sizeable block vote if a law can be pushed through before a poll, wrongfooting parties who, at this stage, can only offer promises of equality in the future. Read more via Bangkok Post