Thailand’s incumbent party has taken the lead in the country’s general election, according to preliminary and unofficial results from the state Electoral Commission.
The commission’s count indicated the conservative Bhumjaithai party had attained around 194 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.
Parties need 251 seats to elect a prime minister, otherwise, a coalition will need to be formed.
The People’s Party, which had been tipped to win the most seats, is currently at around 116.
The populist party Pheu Thai follows behind with around 76 seats.
The 500-member House of Representatives is made up of 400 directly elected politicians based on constituencies.
The other 100 are chosen from “party list” nominees, who gain seats according to each party’s proportional share of the vote on a separate ballot indicating party preference.
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The party list totals are subject to change until the vote count is completed.
Bhumjaithai’s leader, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, thanked voters for their support and vowed his party would work hard for the Thai people.
“At this moment, our people have given us more than what we expected this morning.
“So we owe our voters a fortune and we will only repay them by working at our utmost to bring all the good things to them and our country,” he said.
The People’s Party’s leader, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, said early on Friday night his party would not come in first, and said it would respect the results.
“We respect the parliamentary system, that we have to allow the winner to form the government first, and for now, we don’t think we are going to form a government in competition with Bhumjaithai,” he said, apparently referring to any attempt to form an alternative coalition.
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He also said his party would not support Bhumjaithai’s candidate for prime minister.
Anutin has been the prime minister only since last September.
He dissolved parliament in December to call a new election after he was threatened with a no-confidence vote.
Subsequent border clashes with Cambodia allowed Anutin to recast himself as a wartime leader after his popularity initially slipped because of floods and financial scandals.
His campaign focuses on national security and economic stimulus.
