With nearly all of the ballots counted from Sunday's general election, Thailand's main opposition parties convincingly defeated other rivals, satisfying many supporters' hopes that the balloting would serve as a watershed moment for change.
The Move Forward Party (MFP) and the populist Pheu Thai Party were forecast to win roughly 286 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives with nearly all ballots counted on Monday.
However, due to skewed legislative rules that allow 250 members of a military-appointed Senate to vote on the prime minister, it remains unclear whether they will be able to form the next administration.
The MFP, a progressive youth-led party that ran in the general elections for the first time on a radical program of reforming the monarchy and limiting military authority by revising the country's constitution and repealing conscription, was the largest winner on Sunday.
The MFP was ready to capture the largest share of the lower house with 147 seats after 99 percent of votes were tabulated, according to preliminary figures released on the electoral commission website. The total comprises 112 of the 400 directly elected seats and 35 of the 100 proportionally allocated seats to parties.
According to the most recent results, Pheu Thai won 138 seats, 112 directly elected and 27 through the party list.
It is also a clear repudiation of the two military-aligned parties of the current government, and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led a coup that ousted an elected government in 2014. The governing coalition won only 15% of the seats.
The Move Forward Party (MFP) and the populist Pheu Thai Party were forecast to win roughly 286 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives with nearly all ballots counted on Monday.
However, due to skewed legislative rules that allow 250 members of a military-appointed Senate to vote on the prime minister, it remains unclear whether they will be able to form the next administration.
The MFP, a progressive youth-led party that ran in the general elections for the first time on a radical program of reforming the monarchy and limiting military authority by revising the country's constitution and repealing conscription, was the largest winner on Sunday.
The MFP was ready to capture the largest share of the lower house with 147 seats after 99 percent of votes were tabulated, according to preliminary figures released on the electoral commission website. The total comprises 112 of the 400 directly elected seats and 35 of the 100 proportionally allocated seats to parties.
According to the most recent results, Pheu Thai won 138 seats, 112 directly elected and 27 through the party list.
It is also a clear repudiation of the two military-aligned parties of the current government, and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led a coup that ousted an elected government in 2014. The governing coalition won only 15% of the seats.
