Thailand election sees Move Forward, Pheu Thai in the lead: Preliminary results

BANGKOK: Preliminary results of Thailand’s general election on Sunday (May 14) showed the majority of voters want the opposition parties Move Forward and Pheu Thai to lead the country and end nearly nine years of pro-military rule under incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Data from the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) showed both parties had a strong lead over other political groups with 114 and 111 constituency seats respectively as of 12.30am on Monday (1.30am, Singapore time). 

Eighty-one per cent of the votes were accounted for by that time. 

Following behind was the Bhumjaithai Party with 66 constituency seats.

Prayut’s United Thai Nation Party won 25 seats, according to the preliminary results.

Move Forward Party leader and prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat thanked voters for their support and promised his party will work to the best of their ability.

“Right now, we’re certain that we have reached our goal for this election. At the minimum, we are confident that we have reached a 3-digit result – which is over 100 – for sure. We’re moving in a good direction and it’s looking likely that we could even reach 160 districts, or even more,” he said in a press conference.

"The standpoint of Move Forward Party remains the same, whether it's before or after the election. When it comes down to forming the government, if there is Prawit or Prayut, there is no Move Forward. It means that for Move Forward, Palang Pracharat and United Thai Nation will not be in the equation when forming the government."

Former army chief Prawit Wongsuwon is the incumbent deputy prime minister and leader of the military-backed Palang Pracharat Party. 

Meanwhile, prime ministerial candidate for the Pheu Thai Party Srettha Thavisin said that it is “too early to answer” whether it will work with Palang Pracharat to form a coalition government.

“We have to wait for the official results since if Move Forward gains the most seats, they will make a decision but if Pheu Thai gets the most seats, then we already have a clear stance and I have reiterated this on several occasions,” said Srettha.

The Pheu Thai Party had previously told local media that it will not join Palang Pracharat to form the country’s next government, even if it does not win a landslide victory in the election.

Responding to a question as to who will be nominated as prime minister if Move Forward were to win the most seats in the election, Srettha said that “the one who wins the most seats will”.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who is one of the three prime ministerial candidates from Pheu Thai, said: “Of course people’s voice is the most important so whoever the public trusts most, that person will become the prime minister.”

Earlier in the evening, Srettha said that Pheu Thai is confident of winning the election.

“We are confident that in the end, Pheu Thai will win,” he said at the party’s headquarters in Bangkok.

“We haven’t talked to the Move Forward Party yet but we are ready to talk to everyone who puts democracy first.”

Shortly after polls closed, the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) forecasted that the Pheu Thai Party would win the most number of seats in the election. This was followed by the Move Forward Party and Bhumjaithai Party in second and third place respectively.  

The opinion poll was conducted from May 1 to May 11 with 2,000 respondents.  

ROAD TO THE PREMIERSHIP 

About 52 million people were eligible to vote on Sunday to elect 500 members of the House of Representatives – the lower house of parliament. More than 2 million of them had already cast their ballots in advance voting on May 7.

Of the 500 seats in the Lower House, 400 come from constituency elections. The other 100 come from the national party lists – a type of proportional representation where multiple candidates are elected from a list prepared by their respective parties, based on the total votes the party receives.

Each voter had to cast two ballots – one for the constituency and the other for the party list. There were more than 95,000 polling units nationwide. 

There is still uncertainty as to which party will get to form the government and who will win the premiership.

Under the current constitution, the selection of the prime minister involves both the House of Representatives and the 250-member Senate – the upper house of parliament.

A prospective prime minister must be approved by more than half of the combined assembly. This means either Pheu Thai or Move Forward needs to garner at least 376 votes – either from both Houses or only from the Lower House's 500 members – in order for its candidate to win the premiership and form the government. 

The senators were selected and appointed in 2019 by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) – the military government led by Prayut after his coup d’etat toppled a democratically elected government in 2014.

Following the previous general election in 2019, all but one senator – Senate speaker Pornpetch Wichitchonchai – voted for Prayut’s premiership.

Although his then party Palang Pracharat failed to win the most seats in the Lower House, it managed to consolidate enough votes from its allies to form the government.

The Pheu Thai Party, meanwhile, won the most number of seats in the Lower House at that time but was unable to form a coalition to govern the country. 

The forming of the government can take time, as seen in past elections.

The preliminary results have placed the Bhumjaithai Party in a crucial spot, where it can determine who gets to form the government.

Its leader and prime ministerial candidate Anutin Charnvirakul congratulated Pheu Thai and Move Forward in a press conference on Sunday night.

“I am satisfied with the decision of the public and every vote that we get. I have to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who trusts in us, in the Bhumjaithai Party,” he said.

“I have to congratulate the Move Forward Party and the Pheu Thai Party, and every party that the public has put their faith in.”

Meanwhile, leader and prime ministerial candidate of Thailand's oldest party Democrat, Jurin Laksanawisit, resigned from his position on Sunday, taking responsibility for the party's poor performance in the electoral race.

"I'd like everyone to continue doing your duty for the party," he said in a statement to his party members.

Preliminary results showed the Democrat Party won 20 constituency seats as of 12.30am on Monday. In the previous election, its then leader Abhisit Vejjajiva also submitted his resignation due to poor showing.

Additional reporting by Kiki Siregar and Jarupat Buranastidporn.