Thailand's Opposition Move Forward Party Wins General Election, Begins Coalition Talks

Thailand's Opposition Move Forward Party Wins General Election, Begins Coalition Talks

Thailand's opposition Move Forward Party has won the largest number of seats in the parliament following the general election and has already begun coalition talks to form a new government, according to preliminary results announced by the Thai national election commission on Monday after counting 100% of the votes

BANGKOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2023) Thailand's opposition Move Forward Party has won the largest number of seats in the parliament following the general election and has already begun coalition talks to form a new government, according to preliminary results announced by the Thai national election commission on Monday after counting 100% of the votes.

The election commission stressed that the final results of Sunday's elections would be announced later, after the complete verification of the legality of the vote in all 400 electoral districts. Under Thai law, it may take as many as 60 days to complete the official procedure.

The Move Forward Party led by Pita Limjaroenrat is projected to get 151 out of 500 seats in the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Thai parliament. Pita's party is followed by Pheu Thai, the country's largest opposition party, to which Paetongtarn Shinawatra belongs, with 141 seats.

The two military-aligned parties from the current government, the United Thai Nation Party under Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and the Palang Pracharath Party, have lost a significant number of the votes and won only 36 and 40 seats, respectively.

The leader of Move Forward has already expressed willingness to become Thailand's new prime minister, saying that he was set to start talks with other parties to form a government coalition.

"I have already contacted five political parties to form a coalition. This is, first and foremost, Pheu Thai. I have already spoken to Paetongtarn Shinawatra and in talks with her expressed our willingness to form the government together with Pheu Thai and four other parties from the bloc that has been in the opposition during the parliament's previous term," Pita said.

At the same time, it is unclear whether the opposition will succeed in electing Thailand's new prime minister since the head of the cabinet is elected jointly by the House of Representatives and the 250-seat Senate, which has been appointed entirely by the military government and is, thus, unlikely to vote for an opposition candidate.

As many as 67 parties took part in the general election in Thailand on Sunday, with the turnout reaching 75.22%, the election commission said.