The electoral earthquakes have come fast and heavy over the past few years, whether Brexit in the United Kingdom, the Trump presidency in the United States, or the anti-establishment coalition in Italy. With key elections slated to be held on every continent, will the trend continue in 2019?

Here are a few that could help to shape the political fabric of Asia in the years to come:

Forecast

Thailand General Election (Formerly February 24)

Thais will be heading to the polls this year – hopefully. After a procession of election delays, most recently in November 2018, the newest poll date had been set for February 2019. As of January 14, it has been postponed once again with the military citing complex preparations for May coronation of the new king.

The general election would be the first since a military coup deposed the Yingluck Shinawatra government in 2014. It would also be the first under a military-drafted constitution, which was approved via referendum (sans campaigning) in 2017.

Leading Thai General Chalermchai Sitthisat famously pledged that, after 12 military-backed coups since 1932, the Thai military “promises” not to seize power after the next elections. If the promise holds true, it will be because the new constitution has effectively institutionalized a permanent seat at the governing table for Thailand’s military leadership. In other words, it won’t need to stage a coup; it will already have enough effective control.

The constitution overhauls Thailand’s electoral system, creating a new lower house of 500 seats. These seats are divided into 350 constituency candidates and 150 party list seats that are distributed based on party affiliation (voters cast one vote for a candidate). The intended result of this proportional representation method is a new proliferation of small and medium-sized parties, along with the decline of sweeping populist movements, notably those led by Thaksin Shinawatra and sister Yingluck Shinawatra.

There’s also an upper level of parliament: a 250-seat Senate that is unelected and appointed by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the governing body set up after the 2014 coup.