The Thai Election Commission announced on Monday that the opposition parties have won the majority of seats in the lower house of parliament based on unofficial election results.
Ittiporn Boonpracong, chairman of the Election Commission, stated at a press conference on Monday that the two major opposition parties, the Move Forward Party and the Pheu Thai Party, have each won 112 of the 400 constituency seats in the House of Representatives, based on the 99.18 percent of votes counted so far.
The Move Forward Party and Pheu Thai also won approximately two-thirds of the 100 party-list seats determined in a separate election, putting them well above the 250-seat threshold required for a simple majority in the lower house of parliament.
The two parties have not yet announced their intention to establish a coalition government.
According to the Election Commission, more than 75 percent of the 52 million eligible voters cast ballots in the election on Sunday.
Under the two-ballot system, electors will elect a total of 500 members to the House of Representatives: 400 constituency members of parliament (MPs) and 100 party-list MPs.
The Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party (United Thai Nation Party) of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha won 23 constituency seats but ranked third in the party-list election with approximately 4.6 million votes.
Ittiporn stated that the Election Commission will conduct verification and release the official election results within sixty days.
According to the 2017 constitution, the political parties are anticipated to begin coalition formation negotiations as the new prime minister will require a simple majority from the 500 MPs and 250 senators.
The Shining Media is an independent news website and channel, covering updates from the world of Politics, Entertainment, Sports, International, National, and a lot more.
