Pro-democracy parties in Thailand widened their lead in Sunday’s parliamentary election, with the preliminary count showing them on course to wrest power from a military-backed government that has ruled for almost a decade.
(Bloomberg) — Pro-democracy parties in Thailand widened their lead in Sunday’s parliamentary election, with the preliminary count showing them on course to wrest power from a military-backed government that has ruled for almost a decade.
The Pheu Thai party linked to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and the liberal Move Forward party are neck-and-neck for the top spot with about two-thirds of the vote counted. If the results hold, the two parties would win about 280 of the seats up for grabs, more than enough to secure a majority in the 500-seat lower house.
“Based on the numbers we’re seeing, Pheu Thai and Move Forward and other opposition parties can form a coalition government,” Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat said in a briefing after polls closed, clarifying that no coalition talks are happening yet. “The current opposition parties are the right answer for the people. We’ll stick to that message. There’s no need to include others.”
The centrist Bhumjaithai party — which emerged as a king-maker in the 2019 election on a vow to decriminalize marijuana — is in third place with 66 seats.
Move Forward showed its strength most dramatically in the capital, Bangkok, where it is poised to sweep all but one of the 33 constituency seats. That signaled urban voters dissatisfaction with Pheu Thai and the ruling Palang Pracharath.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter and Pheu Thai’s front-runner for prime minister, urged supporters to be patient, expressing “very high confidence in our victory.” Srettha Thavisin, another nominee for premier, said Pheu Thai “will prioritize talks with pro-democratic parties.” His group has yet to speak with Move Forward, Srettha said.
Still, even a landslide win for pro-democracy parties won’t guarantee a clear path to power: under a constitution promulgated in 2017, the 250 military-appointed senators get to vote alongside the 500 elected lower house members to decide on the next prime minister. Thailand casts two ballots, one in the first-past-the-post race and the other for proportional party representation.
But opposition leaders remained confident Sunday evening they can tip the scale and take power from the military-backed coalition.
While the military first seized power from the democratically elected government in 2014, Thailand’s army chief said ahead of this election there was “zero chance” of the Southeast Asian nation returning to a military rule in the event of post-election turmoil.
The Election Commission secretary-general told reporters earlier in the day that vote proceeded smoothly, signaling no significant irregularities. Approximately 52 million Thais were eligible to vote, and more than 90% of about 2.3 million people who registered for early polling did so last week.
In addition, some of the top parties had multiple candidates for the job. The Election Commission may take up to two months to confirm the members of the lower house, according to the electoral rules. The joint houses will then convene to pick the country’s next leader.
–With assistance from Anuchit Nguyen, Pathom Sangwongwanich, Janine Phakdeetham and Cecilia Yap.
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