Thailand's Bhumjaithai prepares for coalition talks after big election win

BANGKOK, February 10 ------ Thailand faced a realignment of conservative politics after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party won a stronger-than-expected general election victory, with coalition talks expected to start in the coming days.

With 94 percent of votes counted, Bhumjaithai was way ahead of its rivals after Sunday’s vote, securing 193 of the 500 seats in Thailand’s parliament, according to Reuters’ calculations based on election commission data.

The People’s Party, which led some polls in the run-up to the vote, trailed with 118, with the Pheu Thai Party third with 74. A handful of other parties won a combined 115 spots in the 500-seat parliament, according to Reuters calculations, but the final number of party list seats could change under Thailand’s proportional electoral system.

Anutin called the election in December after less than 100 days in office, and has sought to capitalize on a wave of nationalism generated by Thailand’s three-week conflict with Cambodia in December. He described the election result as “a victory for all Thais.”

Bhumjaithai had received 30.2 percent of the constituency votes, with analysts saying it consolidated the conservative vote after the surge in nationalist fervor, and took a string of seats from the once-dominant Pheu Thai, controlled by the billionaire Shinawatra family.

Asked about forming a coalition, Anutin said in a Monday news broadcast that he wanted to form a government with a strong majority, but he was still waiting to see the final election results. Underscoring the role that nationalism played in the vote, Anutin also vowed to build a wall along Thailand’s border with Cambodia and strengthen the military. “I will still have to build the wall. I must keep strengthening the military’s capabilities. I believe Thai soldiers can win against anyone. And I still believe we need to keep the border checkpoints closed, not open them,” he said.

The left-leaning People’s Party has already ruled out the possibility of joining a coalition led by Anutin, with its leader Natthaphong Rueangpanyawut saying late on Sunday that it would not seek to form a rival coalition. Polls at the end of January had the People’s Party significantly ahead of Bhumjaithai, but analysts said the surge in nationalism provoked by the Cambodia conflict favored the conservatives.

Voters also backed a proposal to change the constitution, with nearly two-thirds in favor of replacing a charter put in place after a 2014 military coup, which critics say gave too much power to an undemocratic Senate.

Source: manilatimes.net