Opposition parties in dominant show

The leader of Move Forward Party, Pita Limjaroenrat, said last night he expects to form a coalition government with the Pheu Thai Party that would allow the opposition bloc to rise to power.

"A collaboration of the opposition parties is the perfect way to deal with the challenges the country faces," he said, according to the Bangkok Post. "We will change Thailand together."

The main opposition party Pheu Thai took the lead late last night in the direct race for the House of Representatives and a separate nationwide ballot for the 100 members elected by proportional representation. Move Forward Party was running second. Prayuth's United Thai Nation Party held the fifth spot in the constituency vote, but third in the party preference total.

Pheu Thai, headed by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, had been widely predicted to win at least a healthy plurality of the seats in the 500-member lower House, where 400 lawmakers are elected directly.

But who heads the next government will not be decided by yesterday's vote alone. The prime minister will be selected in July in a joint session of the House and the 250-seat Senate.

The winner must secure at least 376 votes and no party is likely to do that on its own.

Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties linked to populist billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as prime minister by an army coup in 2006. Paetongtarn Shinawatra is his daughter. Her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, who became prime minister in 2011, was toppled in the coup led by Prayuth.

Pheu Thai won the most seats in the last election in 2019, but its archrival, the military-backed Palang Pracharath Party, succeeded in cobbling together a coalition with Prayuth as prime minister.

It relied on unanimous support from the Senate, whose members were appointed by the military government after Prayuth's coup and share its conservative outlook.

Prayuth is backed by the United Thai Nation Party; his deputy prime minister, Prawit Wongsuwan, another former general, is the standard bearer for Palang Pracharath.

Prayuth has been blamed for a stuttering economy, shortcomings in addressing the pandemic and thwarting democratic reforms, a particular sore point with younger voters.