Thailand’s 2023 Election Results See Pheu Thai, Move Forward Ahead in Vote Count

Thailand’s 2023 elections concluded with mix polls showing pro-democracy parties winning efforts to unseat a military-backed government that assumed power in 2014. The National Institute of Development Administration (Nida) predicted that the Pheu Thai party will win between 164 and 172 seats, the most of any party.

According to the Nida survey, the liberal Move Forward party came in second place with between 80 and 88 seats.

While it is too early to draw conclusions from the results, they suggest that no single party will capture a majority of the 500 lower house seats up for grabs. The Nida poll also predicted that the centrist Bhumjaithai party, which emerged as a kingmaker in the 2019 election, will win between 72 and 80 seats. According to the poll, the ruling military-backed Palang Pracharath party would receive between 53 and 61 seats.

At 6.30 p.m., the Election Commission is expected to begin publishing a partial tally of ballots.

According to a different exit poll conducted by Nation Group, the Pheu Thai party, which is associated to influential former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, received 32.6% of the constituency vote, while Move Forward received 29.4%, giving them a slender majority if those numbers maintain. The Nation Group poll reveals comparable outcomes for party-list voting.

At this early stage, opposition leaders believe they can tilt the scales and dethrone the military-backed coalition.

“Based on the numbers we’re seeing, Pheu Thai, Move Forward, and other opposition parties can form a coalition government,” Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat said at a press conference after the elections closed, emphasising that no coalition talks had yet taken place. “The current opposition parties are the people’s choice.” We’ll stick to our guns. There is no need to include anyone else.”

Thaksin’s daughter and Pheu Thai’s front-runner for prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, asked fans to be patient and wait for the results. “I still have very high confidence in our victory,” she told reporters.

Earlier in the day, the secretary-general of the Election Commission informed reporters that voting was going smoothly, with no notable abnormalities. Around 52 million Thais were eligible to vote, and more than 90% of the approximately 2.3 million persons who registered for early voting did so last week.

Even a landslide victory for pro-democracy parties will not provide a clean road to power: under a 2017 constitution, the 250 military-appointed senators will vote alongside the 500 elected lower house members to choose the next prime minister.

Furthermore, some of the big parties had many candidates for the position. According to the electoral regulations, the Election Commission may take up to two months to confirm the members of the lower house. The united houses will then meet to elect the country’s new president.

A third poll, conducted before voting, by university Suan Dusit, projected Pheu Thai gaining as many as 246 seats, followed by Move Forward with 106.

Voters cast two ballots, one for first-past-the-post and one for proportional party representation.

After her Pheu Thai Party took a significant lead with the progressive opposition Move Forward Party in Sunday’s election, the daughter of Thailand’s former premier Thaksin Shinawatra stated the biggest vote-winner will lead the future government.

Paetongtarn “Ung Ing” Shinawatra, a Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate, expressed her support for Move Forward after 50% of eligible votes were counted. “The voice of the people is most important,” she told journalists.

Ms Paetongtarn pleaded her fans to be patient, saying she had “very high confidence in our victory.”

Another candidate for prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, stated that Pheu Thai “will prioritise talks with pro-democratic parties.” Mr Srettha stated that his group had yet to speak with Move Forward.

Pro-democracy parties extended their lead in Sunday’s general election, with preliminary results indicating they are on track to unseat a military-backed administration that has reigned for nearly a decade.

On Sunday evening, the leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP) announced he intended to establish a coalition government with the Pheu Thai Party, allowing the former opposition bloc to take power.

According to MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat, exit polls indicate that the MFP and Pheu Thai may have enough House members to form the next administration.

“This is a positive sign,” he stated. “It’s past time for Thailand to change.”

When asked when he planned to negotiate a prospective alliance with Pheu Thai, Mr Pita indicated he expected a discussion to begin about 10 or 11 p.m.

“A collaboration of (former) opposition parties is the ideal way to address the country’s challenges.” “We will change Thailand together,” stated the MFP’s leader.

Move Forward remarked on its Facebook page, “Thank you for the trust that the people have given us today.” From now on, the Move Forward Party will advance progressive policies in order to establish the Thailand that we all want as soon as feasible.”

Pita, a 42-year-old Harvard graduate, stated that the formation of a governing coalition would be subject to a memorandum of understanding and conditions.

He ruled out forming a coalition with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s United Thai Nation (UTN) Party and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon’s Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).

However, the Move Forward leader did not rule out the possibility of the Bhumjaithai Party of Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul joining a coalition.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate Srettha Thavisin declared on Sunday night that his party, not the MFP, was the poll leader, and that he was convinced that the Thaksin-linked party will win.

He stated that Mr Pita had not yet called Pheu Thai, but that when the time came to negotiate alliances, Pheu Thai would prioritise talks with parties that held similar political views.

Mr Srettha also expressed dissatisfaction with Pheu Thai’s performance in Bangkok constituency elections.

MFP was expected to gain the most House seats in the capital.

Thailand decides: Vote count

The Election Commission (EC) began counting votes after the general election concluded at 5pm on Sunday.

As of 00.34am, the Move Forward Party had taken the lead in both the constituency and party-list races, followed by the Pheu Thai Party and the Bhumjaithai Party.