The Election Commission (EC) of Thailand on 28 March announced the results of the country’s general election which took place four days earlier.

According to the EC, the Palang Pracha Rath party, which backs the incumbent Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, won the largest number of votes with 8.43 million, followed by the main opposition – the Pheu Thai party with 7.92 million votes.

The Future Forward party earned 6.26 million votes, while the Democrats and the Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) gained 3.94 million and 3.73 million votes, respectively.

Voter turnout stood at 74.69 %with 5.57% of invalid votes, similar to the 2011 election.

The votes are used to calculate the number of seats in the House of Representatives of each party. Palang Pracha Rath has obtained 97 seats, while the Pheu Thai won 138.

Previous results announced by the EC were based on 95% of counted votes.

However, the results will not be approved until 9 May as relevant agencies need time to handle official complaints, of which there are 186 thus far, said the EC.

On 25 March, the EC delayed without explanation the announcement of preliminary results of the general election – the first of its kind in the country since a military coup five years ago.

The general election in Thailand took place on 24 March with over 50 million people eligible to cast votes.

A total of 81 parties competed in the election, with thousands of candidates vying for 350 constituencies. The other 150 members of the House of Representatives will be elected from the national party lists under a system of proportional representation.

The election was observed by a group representing foreign countries and international organisations. The group includes those from foreign embassies in Bangkok, such as that of Australia, Bhutan, Cambodia, the Republic of Korea, and Viet Nam.

(Source: VNA)