Thai election: Army-backed party takes surprise lead
The Thai election 2019 took a surprise turn in the afternoon of March 24 as the army-backed Palang Pracharath Party suddenly and surprisingly took a lead over its main foe Pheu Thai in a development that some media called “suspicious.”
According to unofficial results as of March 25, 3pm, Palang Pracharath won 7,938,893 votes and Pheu Thai 7,422,600, putting the former in first place with 28.09 per cent ahead of Pheu Thai with 26.37 per cent.
Future Forward Party followed with a whopping 19.33 per cent which it gained from zero from a mainly young urban voter base. Then came nationalist Bhumjaithai Party and the Democrat Party almost abreast with 11.96 per cent and 11.71 per cent, respectively. For the Democrats, it was a devastating result and its leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, a former prime minister, resigned.
As for the seats in the Lower House, Pheu Thai reached 135 and Palang Pracharath 117, followed by Future Forward with 80, the Democrats with 53 and Bhumjaithai Party with 51. This means that the army party is technically missing out on 9 MPs to support its choice for prime minister but will certainly get support from its alleys.
The announcement of the final results has been delayed until March 25, 2pm.
Khaosod Englisch reported of several irregularities in the voting process, including errors in reports of tallies sent from local officials, a 200-per cent voter turnout in one constituency and total ballots count larger than those present for voting in others. There were also reports of vote buying by some parties, including Palang Pracharath.
The Thai election 2019 took a surprise turn in the afternoon of March 24 as the army-backed Palang Pracharath Party suddenly and surprisingly took a lead over its main foe Pheu Thai in a development that some media called "suspicious." According to unofficial results as of March 25, 3pm, Palang Pracharath won 7,938,893 votes and Pheu Thai 7,422,600, putting the former in first place with 28.09 per cent ahead of Pheu Thai with 26.37 per cent. Future Forward Party followed with a whopping 19.33 per cent which it gained from zero from a mainly young urban voter base. Then came...
The Thai election 2019 took a surprise turn in the afternoon of March 24 as the army-backed Palang Pracharath Party suddenly and surprisingly took a lead over its main foe Pheu Thai in a development that some media called “suspicious.”
According to unofficial results as of March 25, 3pm, Palang Pracharath won 7,938,893 votes and Pheu Thai 7,422,600, putting the former in first place with 28.09 per cent ahead of Pheu Thai with 26.37 per cent.
Future Forward Party followed with a whopping 19.33 per cent which it gained from zero from a mainly young urban voter base. Then came nationalist Bhumjaithai Party and the Democrat Party almost abreast with 11.96 per cent and 11.71 per cent, respectively. For the Democrats, it was a devastating result and its leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, a former prime minister, resigned.
As for the seats in the Lower House, Pheu Thai reached 135 and Palang Pracharath 117, followed by Future Forward with 80, the Democrats with 53 and Bhumjaithai Party with 51. This means that the army party is technically missing out on 9 MPs to support its choice for prime minister but will certainly get support from its alleys.
The announcement of the final results has been delayed until March 25, 2pm.
Khaosod Englisch reported of several irregularities in the voting process, including errors in reports of tallies sent from local officials, a 200-per cent voter turnout in one constituency and total ballots count larger than those present for voting in others. There were also reports of vote buying by some parties, including Palang Pracharath.
