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Thailand’s conservative Bhumjaithai party led Sunday’s general election, but early unofficial results suggested it fell short of the parliamentary majority needed to govern alone, setting up a likely round of coalition negotiations among rival parties. The state Election Commission’s running count, shown on its website, indicated that Bhumjaithai was on track to win about 194 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, with about 93% of polling stations reported.
Under Thailand’s system, a majority of 251 seats is required for the House to elect a prime minister and form a government. With Bhumjaithai’s projected seat total appearing to make that threshold unreachable, the party would need partners in a coalition government if the figures hold as the vote count is finalized.
The People’s Party, described in the report as progressive, was holding second place with 116 seats, while Pheu Thai, which is associated with the political machine of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was projected at 76 seats. The report noted that it is widely believed Pheu Thai would accept if asked to join a coalition government led by Bhumjaithai.
The election came during what the report described as a period of slow economic growth and heightened nationalist sentiment. More than 50 parties contested the polls, but the report said only three—People’s Party, Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai—had the nationwide organization and popularity to win a governing mandate.
The House includes 400 directly elected lawmakers from constituencies and 100 lawmakers chosen from party-list nominees based on each party’s proportional share of the vote from a separate ballot. The report said party-list totals can change until the count is complete, and that the People’s Party was benefiting most by collecting about 3.7 million more votes than Bhumjaithai on those party-list ballots.
The report said there was also “no party had been expected to win a majority,” with local polls and pre-election thinking indicating coalition government would be necessary. It also said the People’s Party’s reformist politics were not shared by its leading rivals, making a governing coalition difficult to assemble even if it won the most seats.
Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, who led the People’s Party, acknowledged early that his party would not come in first. In remarks reported by the Election Commission running-count coverage, he said, “We respect the parliamentary system, that we have to allow the winner to form the government first, and for now, we don’t think we are going to form a government in competition with Bhumjaithai,” a statement the report characterized as referencing any attempt to propose an alternative coalition when the House votes. He also said his party would not support Bhumjaithai’s candidate for prime minister.
Bhumjaithai’s Anutin thanked voters and said his party would work hard for Thai people. In a statement carried in the report, he said, “At this moment, our people have given us more than what we expected this morning. So we owe our voters a fortune and we will only repay them by working at our utmost to bring all the good things to them and our country.”
The report described Bhumjaithai as seen as the main defender and preferred choice of the royalist-military establishment. It also said Pheu Thai leader Julapun Amornvivat thanked voters and added, “It will be the duty of the party that wins the most votes to form a government later on. For the Pheu Thai Party, whichever role we end up in, we will do our best to work for the people, at our full capacity.”
Anutin has served as prime minister for about five months, the report said, after taking office last September following service in the Cabinet of his predecessor, Paetongtarn Shinawatra. The report said parliament was dissolved in December to trigger the new election after Anutin faced threats of a no-confidence vote, and it described subsequent border clashes with Cambodia and shifting campaign emphasis toward national security and economic stimulus.
The report also highlighted the campaign’s broader political backdrop, including Bhumjaithai’s electoral strategy and its strengths in Thailand’s vote-rich northeast. It said the election included a referendum on whether Thailand should replace its 2017 military-drafted constitution, adding that the referendum was not a vote on a proposed draft but a decision to authorize parliament to begin a formal drafting process that would require further steps before completion. The report said about 60% voted in agreement.
Pro-democracy groups viewed a new charter as a key step toward reducing the influence of unelected institutions such as the military and judiciary, the report said, while conservatives warned that a new charter could cause instability.