Thai Military Party Leads Vote, Prayuth Looks Set to Keep Power

Unofficial vote count points to unwieldy coalition government
Election Commission set to announce seat totals on Monday

People Are Questioning Credibility of Thai Election, Says Future Forward Party Leader

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By Randy Thanthong-Knight and Prim Chuwiruch

March 24, 2019 at 4:17 PM UTC

Updated on

March 25, 2019 at 7:33 AM UTC

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A political party created by Thailand’s ruling military government was leading in the first election since a 2014 coup, putting junta chief Prayuth Chan-Ocha in position to return as prime minister even as opponents questioned the vote’s credibility.

Palang Pracharath won 7.7 million votes with 94 percent counted, according to unofficial results posted on the Election Commission’s Facebook page. Pheu Thai, a political party linked to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, came in second with 7.23 million votes. The Election Commission said on Monday it would announce the winners of 350 constituencies at 4 p.m., after several delays in giving seat totals.