Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of Move Forward Party, poses to media as he announces the victory in Sunday’s general election at the party’s headquarters in Bangkok
Fresh off a stunning election victory in which they together captured a majority of seats in the House of Representatives, Thailand’s top two opposition parties began planning yesterday for the next stage in their bid to replace the military-dominated government.
Yesterday’s headliner was 42-year-old businessman Pita Limjaroenrat, who led his Move Forward Party to a first-place finish, surpassing most expectations. It squeaked past the Pheu Thai Party, its opposition partner, which had been favored to top the polls.
Pheu Thai stumbled despite the star power of Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former populist prime minister who was toppled by a 2006 military coup and is the driving force behind the party.
“The overwhelming electoral victory by Move Forward and Pheu Thai is a decisive sign that voters want a polity where the people, not the military, decide their future,” said Tyrell Haberkorn, a Thai studies scholar at the University of Wisconsin.
“Voters want a Thailand with free speech, without compulsory military conscription, and where the people’s voices are valued, not something to be silenced or bought,” she said.
Pita said yesterday he has been talking to five other parties about forming a coalition government. It would have 309 House seats in total, providing more stability than the 292-seat partnership with Pheu Thai as a sole ally. Parliament selects a new prime minister in July, so has has about two months to seal a deal.
Thailand for the past nine years has been led by former army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a 2014 military coup and was returned as prime minister after the 2019 election. He ran for reelection on Sunday, but is saddled with blame for a lagging economy, a botched response to the coronavirus pandemic and thwarting democratic reforms — a particular sore point with younger voters.
“The sentiment of the era has changed and it’s right,” Pita said. “And today it’s a new day and hopefully it’s full of bright sunshine of hope going forward.”
As it earlier became clear his party was taking the lead, he tweeted that he is ready to bring about change as the country’s 30th prime minister. “Whether you agree or disagree with me, I will be your prime minister. Whether you have voted for me or not, I will serve you.”
With almost all votes counted yesterday, Move Forward had captured a projected 151 seats in the lower House by winning over 24% of the popular vote for 400 constituency seats, and more than 36% of the votes for the 100 seats allocated by proportional representation.
Pheu Thai Party tails a close second with its combined seat total projected at 141.
Prayuth’s United Thai Nation Party holds the fifth spot in the constituency vote and third in the party-preference tally, for a projected total of 36 seats.
Although the numbers place Pita in a favorable position to becoming the next prime minister, he faces a difficult path.
The prime minister is elected by a joint session of the 500 members of the newly elected House and 250 senators, who were appointed by the military. The winner must secure at least 376 votes.
The Senate, a stalwart defender of the royalist order along with the army and the courts, voted unanimously for Prayuth in 2019, enabling him to overcome Pheu Thai’s first-place finish and form a coalition government.
There is a strong possibility that Pita will be seen as too radical by partner parties, and they will have to look for a more moderate candidate. GRANT PECK & JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI, MDT/AP
