BANGKOK (Reuters) - Partial results from Sunday’s election in Thailand showed a pro-military party slightly ahead of the populist party leading a “democratic front”, an unexpected and - for many - stunning outcome from the country’s first poll since a 2014 army coup.

Reporters wait for the general election results in Bangkok, Thailand, March 24, 2019. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

With 93 percent of overall votes counted, the Election Commission reported the pro-military party Palang Pracharat, which is seeking to keep junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha in power, was leading with 7.59 million votes.

Trailing with 7.12 million votes was Pheu Thai, a party linked to exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose loyalists have won every election since 2001.

The numbers were for the popular vote, but these did not reflect parliamentary constituency seats that would ultimately be won. Pheu Thai could still win the lion’s share of these because of its concentrated popularity in the north and northeast of the country.

Nevertheless, there was dismay among many voters who had hoped that the poll would loosen the grip on power that traditional elites and the military have held in a country that has one of the highest measures of inequality in the world.

At Pheu Thai’s headquarters in Bangkok, the mood fluctuated from cheerful to quiet disbelief.

“I didn’t think this is likely. I don’t think this is what the people wanted,” said Pheu Thai supporter Polnotcha Chakphet.

A #PrayforThailand hashtag started trending on Twitter as the results trickled out, and some people tweeted that they would leave the country if Prayuth was returned to power to remain prime minister.

The Election Commission chairman said unofficial results would be announced on Monday afternoon. The commission said turnout was 66 percent, based on 90 percent of the vote counted.

ROYAL ROLE

The royal family, which wields great influence and commands the devotion of millions of Thais, played a part in the election though how far it influenced the outcome was unclear.

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On the eve of the vote, King Maha Vajiralongkorn made an unexpected and cryptic statement, recalling a comment made by his late father in 1969 on the need to put “good people” in power and to prevent “bad people from ... creating chaos”.

His message was a departure from the approach of his late father, who died in 2016: in his latter years, the former king usually kept a distance between the monarchy and politics.

Although the king did not refer to any of the sides in the election race, there was speculation on social media that it was a coded reference to main political factions - broadly the middle class and urban establishment, who identify with the monarchy and the military, and their pro-Thaksin opponents.

King Vajiralongkorn also weighed in on electoral affairs last month after a startling turn of events when a pro-Thaksin party nominated Princess Ubolratana, the king’s sister, as its prime ministerial candidate.

Within hours, the king issued a statement saying her candidacy was “inappropriate” and she was disqualified.

Still, the connection between the princess and Thaksin persisted in voters’ minds, particularly after they were seen hugging on Friday at the wedding of his daughter in Hong Kong.

“We had a lot of dramas in the last hours before the election,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Chulalongkorn University told Reuters. “Thaksin overplayed with a royal involvement and that was countered by his opponent.”

DECK STACKED FOR MILITARY

Thailand has been racked for the past 15 years by crippling street protests both by Thaksin’s opponents and supporters that destabilized governments and hamstrung business.

The country has been under direct military rule for nearly five years since then-army chief Prayuth overthrew an elected government linked to populist Thaksin, who himself was thrown out by the army in 2006.

The election will determine the make-up of parliament’s 500-seat House of Representatives. The lower house and the upper house, the Senate - which is appointed entirely by the ruling junta - will together select the next prime minister.

Slideshow (21 Images)

Critics have said a new, junta-devised electoral system gives a built-in advantage to pro-military parties and appears designed to prevent Pheu Thai from returning to power.

The provision means Prayuth’s Palang Pracharat Party and allies have to win only 126 seats in the House, while Pheu Thai and its potential “democratic front” partners would need 376.

The non-aligned Democrat Party, which many had thought could hold the balance of power between pro-military and “democratic front” factions, appeared to have been deserted by many voters. Its leader, former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, announced his resignation within five hours of the polls closing.</s>Polls opened Sunday for the first Thai election since a 2014 coup, with a high turnout expected among a public who received a cryptic last-minute warning from the Thai king to support "good" leaders to prevent "chaos."

All television stations repeated the rare statement by King Maha Vajiralongkorn moments before polls opened across the politically turbulent country.

Sunday's election pits a royalist junta and its allies against the election-winning machine of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra and an unpredictable wave of millions of first-time voters.

The kingdom remains bitterly divided despite the ruling junta's pledge to rescue it from a decade-long treadmill of political instability, protests and coups.

Politicians across the spectrum fear a stalemate has been booked-in by new election rules, written by the junta, which limit the chances of any single party emerging with a comfortable parliamentary majority.

Voters determined to be the first to cast their ballots after years of democratic denial arrived at polling stations across the capital early Sunday.

"People want to vote," said businesswoman Apiyada Svarachorn at a Bangkok polling station, adding the public remains "split into two sides."

"We don't have the right to decide for ourselves for five years now," said Wasa Anupamnt a 28-year-old doctor.

"I'm very excited about this election."

An unscheduled palace statement -- which dropped late Saturday and was repeated minutes before the polls opened -- added further intrigue to an election that has repeatedly threatened to tip into chaos before a single vote was cast.

The statement reiterated comments by late king Bhumibol Adulyadej from 1969 calling for people to "support good people to govern the society and control the bad people" to prevent them from "creating chaos".

Vajiralongkorn, urged the public to "remember and be aware" of the remarks of his father, who died in 2016.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, but the palace holds unassailable powers and is shielded from criticism by a harsh royal defamation law.

The king's intervention before the election is his second in less than two months.

Another royal command torpedoed the candidacy of his elder sister Princess Ubolratana for prime minister of a party linked to Thaksin, a divisive ex-premier toppled by a 2006 coup.

The king called the move to bring his sister into politics "highly inappropriate", as the monarchy is ostensibly above the political fray.

The party was later dissolved by a court.

Thaksin has lived in self-exile since 2008, but he looms large over Sunday's election.

His affiliated parties have won every Thai election since 2001, drawing on huge loyalty from rural and urban poor.

On Friday Ubolratana was guest of honour at the glitzy Hong Kong wedding of Thaksin's daughter -- with photos of the tycoon and the princess hugging and smiling going viral.

The junta-party, which is proposing army chief turned premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha for civilian prime minister after the polls, is under intense pressure to avoid humiliation on Sunday in what is effectively a referendum on its popularity.

Prayut toppled the civilian government of Thaksin's younger sister Yingluck in 2014, the twelfth coup in under a century.

The army and its allies in the Bangkok elite loathe the Shinawatras, accusing the clan of toxifying Thai politics and society with money, nepotism and graft.

The Shinawatras say they have simply recognised the economic and democratic aspirations of the majority of Thais.

This time the ruling junta has written new election rules aimed at curbing the number of seats big parties -- specifically the Shinawatras' main election vehicle Pheu Thai -- can win.

Pheu Thai is expected to again sweep up the north and northeastern heartlands as it seeks to head an anti-junta coalition.

A 250-member junta-appointed senate and a new proportional system were meant to have manoeuvered Prayut and the junta party -- Phalang Pracharat -- into pole position.

With senate votes in hand, the party needs just 126 lower house seats to secure a parliamentary majority.

It can cross that line comfortably with alliances with smaller parties.

Pheu Thai, however, needs 376 lower house seats to command an overall majority -- near impossible without complex tie-ups across pro-democracy factions.

"A deadlock is very likely," political scientist Napisa Waitoolkiat of Naresuan University told AFP.

Seven million millennials are eligible to vote for the first time - many enamoured by telegenic billionaire Thanathorn Joonruangrit, a politial newcomer whose anti-junta position and strong social media messaging has won his Future Forward fans.</s>Voting ends in Thailand's first election since 2014 military coup; some results expected within several hours

BANGKOK (AP) — Voting ends in Thailand's first election since 2014 military coup; some results expected within several hours.</s>Voting is underway in Thailand's first election since its military ousted an elected government in a 2014 coup

BANGKOK (AP) — Voting is underway in Thailand's first election since its military ousted an elected government in a 2014 coup.</s>Voting underway in Thailand's first election since 2014 coup

BANGKOK (AP) — Voters in Thailand were heading to the polls Sunday in the country's first election since the military ousted an elected government in a 2014 coup.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the army chief who led the coup, is hoping to extend his hold on power after engineering a new political system that aims to stifle the influence of big political parties not aligned with the military.

About 51 million Thais are eligible to vote. Leaders of political parties opposed to military rule have urged a high turnout as the only way to derail Prayuth's plans.

The election is the latest chapter in a nearly two-decade struggle between conservative forces including the military and the political machine of Thaksin Shinawatra, a tycoon who upended tradition-bound Thailand's politics with a populist political revolution.

Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 military coup and now lives in exile abroad to avoid a prison term, but parties allied with him have every election since 2001.

Political parties and their main leaders held their final major rallies on Friday evening in Bangkok.

Sudarat Keyuraphan, leader of the main pro-Thaksin party, Pheu Thai, said it would fight to overcome constitutional hurdles erected against it by Prayuth's regime.

"In 2014, they took power with the barrel of a gun, by a coup," she said. "In 2019, they are trying to take away the people's power again through crooked regulations under the constitution."

Concerns about a slowing economy under Prayuth's rule have been an issue in the campaign. Sudarat told the crowd, "Every time we come back, the economy improves, right?"

Prayuth, dressed in a white button-down shirt with rolled-up sleeves, pumped his fist into the air as he took the stage at a rally for the military-backed Palang Pracharath party.

"I will protect this country for our future generations," he said. "Who will join me?"

When it seized power in 2014, the military said it was to end political unrest that had periodically turned violent and disrupted daily life and the economy. The claim has been a major selling point for Prayuth.</s>Voters in Thailand are heading to the polls in the country’s first election since the military ousted an elected government in a 2014 coup.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the army chief who led the coup, is hoping to extend his hold on power after engineering a new political system that aims to stifle the influence of big political parties not aligned with the military.

About 51 million people are eligible to vote. Leaders of political parties opposed to military rule have urged a high turnout as the only way to derail Mr Prayuth’s plans.

The junta leader was among the first to vote in the Thai capital Bangkok, arriving in a Mercedes, after polling booths opened at 8am local time.

Speaking to reporters after casting his ballot, Mr Prayuth said, “I hope everyone helps each other by going to vote today as it’s everyone’s right.”

The election is the latest chapter in a nearly two-decade struggle between conservative forces including the military and the political machine of Thaksin Shinawatra, a tycoon who upended tradition-bound Thailand’s politics with a populist political revolution.

Mr Thaksin was ousted in a 2006 military coup and now lives in exile abroad to avoid a prison term, but parties allied with him have won every election since 2001.

His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who led the government that was ousted in 2014, also fled the country after what supporters said was a politically motivated corruption prosecution.

Thailand’s powerful King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued a statement on the eve of the election that said the role of leaders is to stop “bad people” from gaining power and causing chaos.

Invoking a speech by his father, the previous Thai king who died in 2016 after reigning for seven decades, King Vajiralongkorn said not all citizens can be transformed into good people so leaders must be given support in ruling to create a peaceful nation.

He urged government officials, soldiers and civil servants to look after national security.

It was the monarch’s second notable intervention in politics recently. Last month, he demanded his sister Princess Ubolratana Mahidol withdraw as a prime ministerial candidate for a small Thaksin-allied party within 24 hours of her announcement.

One of the first people to vote, 92-year-old Prabha Svarachorn, echoed the royal statement.

“I come to vote whenever there is an election,” she said. “I think it’s our duty to vote for good people. I would like people to come to vote.”

Political parties and their main leaders held their final major rallies on Friday evening in Bangkok.

Sudarat Keyuraphan, leader of the main pro-Thaksin party, Pheu Thai, said it would fight to overcome constitutional hurdles erected against it by Prayuth’s regime.

“In 2014, they took power with the barrel of a gun, by a coup,” she said. “In 2019, they are trying to take away the people’s power again through crooked regulations under the constitution.”

Concerns about a slowing economy under Mr Prayuth’s rule have been an issue in the campaign.

Mr Sudarat told the crowd, “Every time we come back, the economy improves, right?”

When it seized power in 2014, the military said it was to end political unrest that had periodically turned violent and disrupted daily life and the economy. The claim has been a major selling point for Mr Prayuth.</s>BANGKOK (AP) — Voting is underway in Thailand's first election since its military ousted an elected government in a 2014 coup.</s>The Latest: Thai parties jostle for power after election

BANGKOK (AP) — The Latest on Thailand's first election since a 2014 coup (all times local):

A military backed party says it won the most votes in Thailand's first election since a 2014 coup, based on unofficial results, and will try to form a government. That comes after a rival party also claimed it had the right to govern.

The head of the Palang Pracharat party that is backed by junta leader and prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha says it will contact like-minded parties to form a new administration.

The leader of the Pheu Thai party allied with exiled leader Thaksin Shinawatra said earlier Monday it would try to form a government because it won the most constituency races in Sunday's election. That was also based on unofficial results.

Separately, the Election Commission has announced the preliminary results of 350 constituency races but full vote counts, which are needed to determine the allocation of 150 other seats in the House of Representatives, won't be available until Friday.

The commission says it will release full vote counts from the first election since a 2014 coup on Friday

Thailand's election commission says it will release full vote counts from the first election since a 2014 coup on Friday as an anti-junta party claimed it won the most seats and will try to form a government.

The commission said Monday it will announce the results of 350 constituency seats later in the day but full vote counts, which are needed to determine the allocation of 150 other seats in parliament, won't be available for several days.

The Pheu Thai party, which was ousted from government in the coup, said it won the most constituency seats in Sunday's election and will try to form a government with similar-minded parties.</s>Voters went to the polls in Thailand, five years after the military seized power in a coup.</s>Thailand's Palang Pracharat Party leader Uttama Savanayana, left, looks on as he prepares to hold a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March 25, 2019. The Election Commission announced the results of 350 constituency races but full vote counts, which are needed to determine the allocation of 150 other seats in the House of Representatives, won’t be available until Friday. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)

BANGKOK (AP) — The two top parties began angling for the upper hand in forming a new government in Thailand on Monday after partial results showed no group won a majority of seats in the country's first national election since a 2014 military coup.

One outcome: many accusations of cheating in Sunday's vote, in efforts to discredit the other side's claim to leadership and perhaps get some winners disqualified.

The allegations highlight continuing deep divisions in Thailand, which has been wracked by political instability for nearly two decades.

The junta-appointed Election Commission announced the results of 350 constituency races but said full vote counts, which are needed to allocate 150 other seats in the House of Representatives, won't be available until Friday after apparent counting problems.

The partial results showed the military-backed Palang Pracharath party won the most popular votes nationwide. But under a complicated new electoral system put in place by the junta, the anti-military Pheu Thai party is likely to win the highest number of seats in the House.

Each party insists its advantage gives it the right to try to form a government, though neither holds a majority in terms of votes or seats. And because an unelected 250-member Senate appointed by the junta will also vote for prime minister, a party must win a combined 376 votes to assure victory.

That vote will likely take place sometime in May and give Palang Pracharath's candidate, current junta Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a considerable advantage.

The election is the latest chapter in a nearly two-decade struggle pitching conservative forces including the military, courts and ultra-royalists against the political machine of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a tycoon who upended tradition-bound Thai politics with a populist political revolution and is now despised by the military.

Thaksin now lives in exile abroad to avoid a prison term, but parties allied with him have won every election since 2001 despite repeated efforts by the military and courts to block his influence. His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, who led the Pheu Thai government that was ousted in 2014, also fled the country after what supporters said was a politically motivated prosecution.

While behind-the-scenes recruitment of smaller parties is the main way for Palang Pracharath or Pheu Thai to try to gain enough support to form a government, the public battle is being fought with cries of foul on social media, mostly from Pheu Thai partisans.

Although formal ties between Thaksin and Pheu Thai are now legally banned, he amplified the accusations of foul play in an op-ed in The New York Times on Monday.

His complaints included inconsistent and delayed results from the Election Commission, ballot numbers exceeding voters in some areas, turnouts twice the number of registered voters, and a suspiciously large number of voided ballots.

Thailand's main poll-watching organizations have not yet publicly addressed most of the allegations.

The watchdog group P-Net charged that the junta-appointed Election Commission was inefficient, and that it had found vote buying ahead of the voting.

But there is concern about the other allegations.

Allen Hicken, professor of political science at the University of Michigan, noted that while Thaksin's words read as "sour grapes," the allegations have been circulating widely.

He said he considered the three most troubling issues to be the delayed result announcements, turnouts exceeding 100 percent and a large number of invalid ballots.

Hicken said he would withhold judgment pending explanations by the Election Commission, "but all three are consistent with electoral chicanery in other contexts."

The commission's secretary-general, Charoongwit Poomma, defended its handling of Sunday's vote and said delays in announcing full results reflect its duty to ensure the election is free and fair. He said he had not received reports of issues such as excessive voting numbers or disappearing votes.

The cheating charges come on top of the judgment by many human rights and pro-democracy groups that the rules set by the junta made a fair election impossible.

Palang Pracharath chief Uttama Savanayana said it will contact like-minded parties to form a new government.

The leader of Pheu Thai, Sudarat Keyuraphan, also said it would try to form a government because it won the most constituency races.

"The party with the most seats is the one that has received the confidence from the people to set up the government," Sudarat said.
Voters in Thailand head to the polls to elect all 500 members of the House of Representatives. This is the first parliamentary election held in the country since the invalidation of the 2014 Thai general election and the ensuing 2014 Thai coup d'état.