Thai election hopeful gives last rousing rally before voting starts on Sunday

A leading candidate in Thailand's elections gave his final rallying cry last night (Friday) before the country heads to the polls on Sunday - urging voters to topple the military dictatorship.

Billionaire businessman Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has seen soaring support from Thailand's young, tech-savvy voters and progressives, after forming The Future Forward Party in 2018.

His liberal policies include transparency and democracy reforms, ending corruption, slashing military spending and taxing the rich. It's in stark contrast to the authoritarian martial rule implemented by the army which seized control in a coup eight years ago and banned political protests.

Speaking in capital Bangkok on Friday night, the last day of campaigning allowed before polls open on Sunday, Thanathorn was greeted by thousands of cheering. flag-waving followers as he gave a rousing speech.

He urged voters to reject the military rule, led by General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, which has tightened its grip on power since its coup in 2011 - the 19th intervention by the military in under a decade.

Thanathorn said: ''Now is the time for change. We are tired of military rule. Thailand wants democracy. No more corruption. No more inequality.''

In a previous interview, Thanathorn said: ''The fundamental issue is inequality. The gap between rich and poor in this country is basically the biggest in the world. If we are not tackling this problem, I believe it will be very hard to heal the past wounds.''