BANGKOK, May 16 – The Move Forward Party in Thailand is actively pursuing a coalition government with other opposition parties following unofficial vote counting results, which indicate that the opposition has secured a majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.
The Move Forward Party, known for its strong support among young voters, emerged as the largest party in the House of Representatives with 151 seats, surpassing the pre-election favorite, the Pheu Thai Party, which obtained 141 seats.
As of the completion of 99.18 percent of the vote counting process, both the Move Forward Party and the Pheu Thai Party have won 112 seats each out of the 400 constituency seats in the House of Representatives, according to Ittiporn Boonpracong, chairman of the Election Commission, on Monday.
Furthermore, the Move Forward Party and the Pheu Thai Party have secured a significant number of the 100 party-list seats determined in a separate poll. This achievement places the two opposition parties comfortably above the 250-seat threshold required for a simple majority in the lower house of parliament.
The general election, held on Sunday, witnessed the participation of over 75 percent of the eligible 52 million voters, as reported by the Election Commission. The election employed a two-ballot system, allowing voters to choose one candidate for the 400 constituency seats and another for their preferred party competing for the 100 party-list seats, ultimately resulting in the selection of 500 members for the House of Representatives.
The official election results are currently pending verification by the Election Commission, a process that is expected to take 60 days. During this period, parties are anticipated to initiate negotiations for the formation of a coalition government.
On Monday, Pita Limjaroenrat, the 42-year-old leader of the Move Forward Party, announced that he has extended an invitation to the Pheu Thai Party and several other previously opposition parties to join in forming a government. Limjaroenrat expressed congratulations to Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra for her well-fought campaign and stated that the invitation includes five other parties from the previous opposition.
“We have established a contact point to ensure that we have the Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in place to form a coalition,” he stated during a press conference.
In response, the Pheu Thai Party released a statement accepting the invitation, but Paetongtarn Shinawatra mentioned that negotiations between the two parties have not yet begun.
If successful, the coalition would hold over 300 seats in the lower house of parliament. However, this would still fall short of the required 376 votes for their nominee to be appointed as prime minister, as 250 senators, in accordance with the 2017 constitution, will participate in the ballot alongside the 500 MPs.
Following the previous general election in 2019, the senators had supported Prayut Chan-o-cha as prime minister.
In the recent election, Prayut’s Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party (United Thai Nation Party) secured 23 constituency seats and ranked third in the party-list poll, earning an additional 13 seats with approximately 4.6 million votes.
Prayut, addressing reporters on Sunday night, expressed respect for the election results and affirmed his commitment to serving the country, regardless of his future role.
Among the parties in Prayut’s government, the Bhumjaithai (Proud Thais) Party ranked third overall, securing 71 seats. The Palang Pracharath Party, which helped Prayut assume the position of prime minister in 2019, obtained 40 seats. Meanwhile, the Democrat Party, the oldest existing political party in the country, failed to improve upon its 2019 election performance and only managed to secure 25 seats.
