Accompanied by my father, I made it my number one priority to head to a voting booth on Sunday because I felt compelled to cast my vote against tyranny.
Voters show their identity cards and demand their right to vote during a protest at Yannawa district office after the voting was blockaded by anti-government protesters. Pattanapong Hirunard
I suspect, like many other Thais, my vote was an act of defiance against the People's Democratic Reform Committee's (PDRC) attempt to not only shut down Bangkok, but to also shut down our democracy.
Unwilling to compromise or find a path that would avoid further bloodshed, Suthep Thaugsuban has demonstrated that he intends to take us to the brink.
Bangkok, as Thailand's capital city, belongs to all Thais and no minority group, however many concerts they may care to organise, has the rightful claim to "shut it down". More importantly, thousands of Thais throughout history, especially students, have laid down their lives for us to live in a democracy. However imperfect that democracy may be, it's a hell of a lot better than being ruled by an unelected, unrepresentative and unimpeachable people's council.
Let us therefore honour their sacrifice by standing up to those that wish to molest our democracy and defy those that are hell bent on stripping us of our rights to vote in free and fair elections.
Voting is a right endowed upon all Thais under the constitution. PDRC supporters may choose to attend picnics instead of participating in elections, and that is entirely their right, but they have neither legal nor moral claim to prevent others from exercising this very basic right to vote in democratic elections.
After two months of observing these protests I can detect a certain tendency among a significant number of PDRC supporters to look down with disdain upon universal suffrage. Many foreign correspondents, belonging to reputable news agencies that have also identified this thinly veiled tendency, have been rather unjustly denounced by PDRC leaders as either lacking understanding of the intricacies of Thai political history, or disingenuously labelled as being on the payroll of Thaksin Shinawatra's international propaganda machine.
But what is their beef against universal suffrage? Is universal suffrage the reason why Thaksin is able to continuously hold on to the reins of power? And even if this were true, do we really think it's possible or even moral to take away people's rights to vote just because they keep on voting back into office a political party we oppose?
I have previously written that Thailand is in desperate need of reform, so I won't elaborate here. I even went out of my comfort zone and demanded "reform before elections", so long as a time frame for elections was clearly stipulated. However, there is another group of people in Thailand that also require urgent reform, and that's the "privileged class".
Admittedly, I have led a privileged life, and I don't think I am a traitor to my cause when I express the need for us to accept that with the advent of cable television, Facebook, economic development and increased political awareness, the Thailand of old has now changed irreversibly. Like an only child that has to start welcoming new siblings into a growing family, we must be prepared to share our possessions and learn the art of compromise.
In my household I employ drivers, maids and several nannies. Many have been with me for decades. I care for them deeply and consider them part of my family. They already live a life much less privileged than I, so in my view supporting a movement like the PDRC that seeks to suppress even their right to vote is the very definition of mindless cruelty.
Elections provide the less fortunate a mere one day out of a four-year cycle in which their voices count equally to ours. One day, in which they can express themselves proudly through the ballot box and choose their own representatives. One day, just to be heard. But now, even that measly day is in danger of being snatched from them by an unholy alliance, spearheaded by the PDRC and those perennial opportunists, the Democrat Party.
The elite class should stop blaming universal suffrage as the reason for our "universal suffering", because the real reason Thaksin keeps winning elections is the total lack of competition and courage from the Democrat Party.
In the last election, the Democrats won 11 million votes, while Pheu Thai won 13 million. That's just a gap of 2 million votes in an electorate of 49 million, which is only 4%. Surely, aided by the clumsiness of the Yingluck Shinawatra administration, the Democrat Party can close the gap and sway 2 million voters?
It's not insurmountable! But instead Abhisit Vejjajiva, marching to the drumbeat of Mr Suthep, decides once again not to contest an election. Why? Because Thaksin is tough to beat. Well, just imagine Winston Churchill, knees buckling in fear, throwing up the white flag of surrender when Britain was the only one left standing against the military prowess of Hitler's Nazi regime.
The only way to defeat Thaksin is through the ballot box. The Democrat Party must put up a fight, instead of fearing elections like a vampire shrinking at the first glare of the morning sun. People aren't inspired by excuses or fear, they are inspired by courage. In those immortal words of Churchill, ''Never, never, never, give up!"
Songkran Grachangnetara is an entrepreneur. He graduated from The London School of Economics and Columbia University. He can be reached at Twitter: @SongkranTalk