Thai election: official Thai election results may herald pro-junta government

The Palang Pracharath Party, which is backed by the junta government, is duelling for power with an anti-junta alliance known as the Democratic Front

Many small parties are expected to get parliament seats in the official count and are likely to back the pro-military group, says an observer

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Pro-junta party Palang Pracharath thanks supporters after the election. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 2:35pm, 7 May 2019Updated: 7:12pm, 7 May 2019

The official results of Thailand’s March 24 election due this week are set to boost a push by a pro-military party to form a governing coalition, unless an imminent court ruling complicates the picture.

The party, Palang Pracharath, is a proxy for the junta government and is duelling for power with an anti-junta alliance. Many small parties are expected to get parliament seats in the official count and are likely to back the pro-military group, said Punchada Sirivunnabood, an expert in Thai politics.

“They view the pro-military party as having the higher chance of forming a government and so will gravitate towards it,” said Punchada, a visiting fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

The election, held after almost five years of army rule, was both inconclusive and disputed. The latest complication is a court ruling due Wednesday on whether the Election Commission is allocating certain parliament seats in a valid way. An adverse judgment could jeopardise the May 9 deadline for certifying election results and delay the government’s formation.

On Tuesday, the commission released the winners of 349 constituency seats and is expected to reveal the winners of another 150 party-list seats before Thursday. The Pheu Thai party linked to exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra won 136 constituency seats but fell short of a majority, followed by Palang Pracharath with 97.

A constituency seat is won by the candidate getting the most votes in that region. Party-list seats are allocated using proportional representation and are the topic of the court ruling amid confusion over whether the poll agency is using the right formula.

Days after the poll, Pheu Thai said it had formed a seven-member coalition that unofficially would have 255 seats in the 500-strong lower house.