9 parties enter lower house in Thailand's election, pro-Thaksin party takes lead in constituency MP seats:EC

Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 18:54:00|Editor: Yurou
Video PlayerClose

BANGKOK, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Pro-military party Palang Pracharath won 97 constituency MP seats while the main pro-Thaksin party Pheu Thai got 137 constituency MP seats in Thailand's first general election since 2014 coup, according to the Election Commission's unofficial results on Monday.

The EC unveiled a 95-percent poll results after the second delay within 24 hours.

According to the initial results, nine parties have entered the lower house. The anti-military party Future Forward won 30 constituency MP seats and the Democrat Party got 33.

The EC neither announced the number of party-list MP seats nor the whole votes each party got. It said official results will be unveiled no later than May 9.

The EC said the delay is due to the complex computation between constituency-based MPs and that of party-list MPs.

In the election, voters voted 350 members in the lower house.

The new constitution allows parliament's upper house, the 250-seat Senate, to vote with the 500-seat lower house to choose the prime minister. The Senate is entirely appointed by the ruling military government.

Assuming the senate backs the same candidate, pro-military parties would need 126 seats in the lower House of Representatives to win a majority in a combined vote. Opposition parties need 376 seats.

The Pheu Thai party, which was ousted from government in 2014 coup, won the most constituency seats in Sunday's election and said it will try to form a government with similar-minded parties.

Meanwhile the military proxy party Palang Pracharat has also announced that the party has talked to other parties and is ready to take the lead in forming a coalition government.

More than 33 million voters out of the 51 million eligible cast their ballots in the election. The turnout is about 66 percent, while the EC expected more than 80 percent of the voters would join the poll.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011100001379225091