Thai Conservatives Retain Senate Control in Blow to Pro-Democracy Groups
- More than half of new Senate seen linked to Bhumjaithai Party
- Anutin is leadership contender as PM Srettha risks ouster
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Thailand certified the results of the first Senate contest since a coup in 2014, with lawmakers linked to a conservative party emerging as the biggest group and those backed by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s party trailing behind.
The official results, published late on Wednesday, show more than half of the new 200 senators have links with Bhumjaithai, a party that was part of Thailand’s last military-backed government, and its leader Anutin Charnivirakul, according to observations by four political analysts. Only a dozen candidates with ties to the ruling Pheu Thai Party were confirmed.