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Parties vie for power amid Thai election confusion

Supporters of Pheu Thai react to the election results - AFP
Supporters of Pheu Thai react to the election results - AFP

Two major political parties raised doubts on Monday about the fairness of Thailand’s election results amid growing complaints about irregularities during Sunday’s poll and a vote count marred by hiccups and confusion.

Early unofficial results announced by the country’s election commission in the first poll since a 2014 military coup gave the pro-army Phalang Pracharat party a larger share of the popular vote but the main opposition Pheu Thai, aligned to Thaksin Shinawatra, the exiled former leader, the biggest seat count.

However, the commission has yet to release information on 150 seats allocated to the 500-strong lower house under proportional representation, and has been strongly criticised for delaying the publication of the full results.

The lack of clarity has resulted in the two rival camps both declaring their intention to form a coalition government and in growing suspicion over attempts to rig a poll which is already stacked in favour of pro-junta forces. 

Mr Shinawatra told AFP on Monday that he believed the vote was "rigged" and marred by "irregularities".

"If rules and the referee is not fair," he said, "the result will not be respected."

With Pheu Thai currently on 138 seats in the House of Representatives and Phalang Pracharat, led by junta chief General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, on 96, any coalition is likely to be fragile and unable to push through legislation.

Future Forward, a new party that made a strong debut thanks to its appeal to younger voters, and which may join forces with Pheu Thai, on Monday raised questions about the poll.

A painting of Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of the Future Forward Party - Credit: Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images
A painting of Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of the Future Forward Party Credit: Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

In an interview with Bloomberg, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, 40, the party’s charismatic leader and scion of an auto parts empire, questioned the credibility of the election and predicted instability ahead.

“There might be another election, there might be another military intervention,” he said. “Everything is still on the table.”

Hashtags that translated as “Election Commission screw-up” and “cheating the election” were trending on Thai social media throughout the day.

“There is suspicion about extra ballots where the number of ballots was higher than the number of voters in some districts,” Pheu Thai Party spokeswoman Ladawan Wongsriwong told Reuters. “There is also suspicion about reports of vote-buying.”

The election commission, meanwhile, blamed “human error” for the chaotic roll out of results, and alleged that its servers had suffered from unspecified hacking attacks.

The confusion added to pre-election fears that the military junta may try to hijack the democratic process to stay in power through constitutional changes weighted in its favour.

A 250-strong Senate, largely selected by the National Council for Peace and Order (junta), and a new proportional system were intended to manoeuvre Phalang Pracharat and Mr Prayuth into prime position to maintain the premiership and overall control.