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Voters reject military-aligned parties

Voters have delivered a clear rejection of nearly a decade of military-aligned rule, election results showed Monday, backing two pro-democracy opposition parties.

The Move Forward Party (MFP), the newest force in Thai politics that channelled the energy of youth-led pro-democracy protests in 2020, secured the most votes.

Led by charismatic 42-year-old Pita Limjaroenrat, the MFP wants to reform Thailand’s strict royal insult laws, setting up a potential clash with the kingdom’s powerful royalist-military elite.

Thais went to the polls in large numbers on Sunday after a campaign pitting a young generation yearning for change against the conservative elite embodied by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha.

“I feel like my country has (hope) for the future,” Beam, 29, a personal assistant in Bangkok who voted for the MFP and took part in the 2020 protests, told AFP on Monday.

“People have really opened their eyes.”

But in a kingdom where coups and court orders have often trumped the ballot box, she expressed the fears of many that the result may yet be thwarted.

With ballots counted from 99 percent of polling stations, Election Commission data showed MFP on 14 million in the popular vote followed by Pheu Thai on 10.6 million.

The United Thai Nation party, led by Prayut — the ex-army chief who seized power in a 2014 coup — was a distant third on 4.6 million.

While not declaring victory, Pita said late Sunday that a coalition deal is “definitely on the cards”.

But in a sign of the potential flashpoints ahead, Pita repeated a promise to reform the lese majeste law that invokes harsh prison terms for insulting the monarchy.

This was an issue once deemed untouchable in Thai politics, and which rival opposition Pheu Thai shied from during the campaign.

“No matter what, we will push for royal lese majeste law reform,” Pita told reporters on Sunday.

– Work together –

Pheu Thai, which has been the most popular party for two decades, had been hoping for a landslide win that would allow it to lead a coalition.

Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of party patriarch and exiled billionaire Thaksin, congratulated MFP on their success and signalled cooperation in a potential future government.

“We can work together,” she said.

And despite their success, MFP and Pheu Thai still face many hurdles to secure power, due to a junta-scripted 2017 constitution.

The new premier will be chosen jointly by the 500 elected MPs in the lower house, plus 250 senate members appointed by Prayut’s junta.

This stacks the deck in the army’s favour.

Adding to the uncertainty, rumours are already swirling that MFP could be dissolved by court order — the same fate that befell its predecessor Future Forward Party after it performed unexpectedly well at the 2019 elections.

The Election Commission is not expected to officially confirm the final number of seats won by each party for several weeks.

But early Monday it forecast MFP and Pheu Thai to each win 112 out of a total of 400 constituency seats. MFP would then likely secure a greater number of the remaining 100 seats to be allocated to parties on a proportional basis.

– Protest legacy –

This election was the first since the 2020 protest that demanded curbs on the power and spending of Thailand’s king.

The demonstrations petered out as Covid-19 curbs were imposed and dozens of leaders were arrested, but their energy fuelled growing support for the more radical opposition MFP.

“Younger generations these days care about their rights and they will come out to vote,” Pita told reporters as he arrived to vote on Sunday.

MFP sought millennial and Gen Z voters, who make up nearly half the 52 million-strong electorate, but early results indicated their inroads across all demographics.

The party swept Bangkok, capturing every district but one.

It is predicted to also take districts in the staunchly Pheu Thai northern territories — even flipping Thaksin Shinawatra’s home district near northern city Chiang Mai.

Wissanu warns of deep split in society

The Pheu Thai Party is expected to form a coalition with the Move Forward Party (MFP) as unofficial election results showed they were neck and neck in a tight race.

The Election Commission (EC) began counting votes after the general election concluded at 5pm on Sunday.

As of 10.30pm, two parties from the previous opposition bloc — Pheu Thai Party and the Move Forward Party — were taking it in turns in leading both the constituency and party-list races while counting votes was still being conducted.

The votes were still being tallied, with unofficial results expected to be available around 11pm, according to the EC.

Srettha Thavisin, one of Pheu Thai’s three prime ministerial candidates, said that unofficial results showed Pheu Thai was still in the lead, not the MFP.

“I am still confident Pheu Thai will win the election,” Mr Srettha said, adding that he and Pita Limcharoenrat, the MFP leader, had not discussed the formation of a government over the phone yet.

“We will discuss the matter with our allies which share democratic ideologies first,” Mr Srettha said.

Asked whether he was concerned about allegations of poll fraud, Mr Srettha said he was, and the party had sent officials to observe counts at polling stations.

Asked about the unofficial results that showed MFP had taken the lead in all 33 constituencies in Bangkok, Mr Srettha admitted he was disappointed and a bit surprised. Asked if he was upset that Pheu Thai may not win the election by a landslide as it had hoped, he said he was not.

Prasert Chantararuangthong, Pheu Thai party secretary-general, said the party will form a coalition government with parties from the previous opposition bloc.

He said while the counting was still ongoing, Pheu Thai would allow the party that won the most seats to form a government first.

Earlier, Mr Pita on Sunday confirmed that it could form a coalition government with the Pheu Thai Party and other parties from the previous opposition bloc. He confirmed he would not do a deal with the military-linked parties.

Speaking after learning the result of exit polls, Mr Pita said MFP and Pheu Thai could have enough House seats to form a government. “This is a positive sign. It’s time for Thailand to change,” he said.

Asked about coalition talks with Pheu Thai, Mr Pita said he expected the talks to start at 10-11pm on Sunday night. “A collaboration of the (former) opposition parties will deal with the challenges that the country faces. We will change Thailand together,” the MFP leader said.

Mr Pita, 42, said the formation of the next government would be subject to a memorandum of understanding and there must be conditions.

He ruled out the possibility of forming the next government with the United Thai Nation Party of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and the Palang Pracharath Party of Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.

Mr Pita did not rule out possible coalition participation by the Bhumjaithai Party of Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said that the incoming government is likely to face protests and resistance from its opponents.

He said while the economy will start to rebound and people’s livelihoods will improve after the poll, protests and unrest are likely to resurface as society remains split along political and ideological grounds.

This will obstruct any effort to steer the country forward, the deputy prime minister said, adding that whichever party that will lead the government coalition must be prepared to deal with such resistance. “Risk factors remain [after the poll],” he said.

“Don’t forget about the Yingluck Shinawatra government. It won an overwhelming number of House seats, but it later faced resistance and demonstrations,” Mr Wissanu said. Asked whether the country will undergo big changes after the poll, Mr Wissanu said change always occurs after an election.

“Even if the same government returns to power after the poll, it must still change its policies, change its team, change the way it works,” Mr Wissanu said. “Whoever forms the new government is unlikely to revert to the ‘old ways’. They must learn from past mistakes and keep up with the changing circumstances,” Mr Wissanu said.

Navy commander Adm Choengchai Chomchoengpaet said he hoped the post-election processes will go smoothly without any unrest. “Everyone wants to see democracy work and have a new government to lead the country to prosperity,” he said.

National police chief Pol Gen Damrongsak Kittiprapas on Sunday said more than 150,000 police were deployed to maintain order at polling stations nationwide.

Most claim no intent to destroy vote paper

Incidents of people tearing ballot papers were reported in several provinces, but violators, most of whom were elderly and had health issues, insisted they had no intention to destroy the papers.

The Royal Thai Police said yesterday after polls closed that the police’s election coordination centre had received reports that about 20 voters nationwide tore up their ballot papers.

In Songkhla’s Hat Yai, a 76-year-old retiree tore a green ballot, which was for the party-list system, into two pieces because she did not see a purple one and thought only one ballot was used.

The incident came to officials’ attention when the woman, who claimed to have a problem with her eyesight, brought the two pieces to officials to ask what to do next. She was handed over to police and faces a charge of violating the election law.

In Phuket’s Thalang district, a 77-year-old man tore his marked ballot papers because he thought he was supposed to. His relatives told police the man was being treated for ischemic stroke and had experienced some memory loss.

He was initially charged with damaging the ballot and his family was told to bring medical proof of illness.

The northeastern province of Udon Thani reported two cases of ballot paper tearing.

The first incident involved an 84-year-old man who tore the ballot paper for the party-list system at a polling station in Nong Wua So district.

The man, who reportedly had Alzheimer’s disease, told poll officials that he thought he had lost the purple ballot, so he tore the green ballot paper into two pieces so he had two separate ballots to drop in the two ballot boxes.

In Kut Chap district, a 61-year-old man tore a purple ballot paper out of frustration because he could not find the number he wanted to vote.

He walked up to poll officials for a new ballot and was told what he did was illegal. The voter told police that he mixed up the constituency and party-list ballots and that he was unaware that tearing the ballot paper was against the law.

Samut Prakan also reported two cases of ballot-paper tearing by an 87-year-old woman and an 83-year-old man at two voting stations.

Both reportedly had Alzheimer’s disease and were found to have damaged the papers unintentionally.

In Krabi’s Muang district, a 21-year-old man, who claimed to be a first-time voter, tore both papers after marking them, dropped the parts that were marked in ballot boxes and kept the rest. In Phrae’s Sung Men district, officials say a drunk voter fell in the polling booth and damaged a ballot paper.