Pita Limjaroenrat: Thai voters’ change candidate, cut down by senators

Demonstrators hold a portrait of Pita Limjaroenrat outside Thailand’s national assembly. Photograph: Peerapon Boonyakiat/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

After almost a decade of rule by the former army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, many voters in the recent Thai election longed for change. More than 14 million turned to pro-reform politician Pita Limjaroenrat and his party Move Forward.

Pita, aged 42, is far younger than most politicians in Thailand, and he and his party were able to use social media to reach new voters.