A regional election observation group is criticizing the initial results from Sunday’s general election in Thailand as “deeply flawed.”
Preliminary results released Monday by the country’s election commission show the military-backed Phalang Pracharat was leading in the ballot counting, but the populist Pheu Thai is leading in the number of parliamentary seats with 137 versus 97 seats for Phalang Pracharat. The commission blames the confusing and contradictory results on “human error.”
The Asian Network for Free Elections issued a statement Tuesday calling the inaccurate results have damaged “the perceived integrity” of the general election.
The preliminary results have given both parties a claim that they have a legitimate mandate to form a post-junta coalition government.
The Phalang Pracharat is led by army chief Prayut Chan-ocha, who has led the junta since ousting then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014, while the Pheu Thai is affiliated with Yingluck’s brother, Thaksin, a telecommunications billionaire who was overthrown in a coup in 2006. Parties linked to Thaksin have won every general election 2001.
The final results are not expected to be announced until May 9.
