BANGKOK — Thais voted on Sunday to choose their next government, after a general election campaign focused on whether the pro-military camp should remain in power or pro-democracy opposition groups should take the reins.
A total of 500 seats in the lower house are up for grabs. Over 52 million people aged 18 or older were eligible to vote.
Nikkei Asia is following the race that will determine Thailand’s future. Here are some highlights of our campaign coverage:
Thai parties stoke hope and fear in final election pitch
Thai vote Sunday offers chance for change: Five things to know
Thai election a referendum on military role in politics
Thaksin stronghold transforms into Thai opposition battleground
Here’s the latest (Thailand time):
5:55 p.m. Move Forward leads in party list votes with more than 21,000. Pheu Thai has 9,000 and United Thai Nation has 6,000.
5:20 p.m. More numbers from the just-released National Institute of Development Administration poll: Pheu Thai is projected to win 164 to 172 seats, far from the party’s target of 286 to 310. Move Forward would come in second at 80 to 88 seats, followed by the Bhumjaithai Party at 72 to 80 and the ruling Palang Pracharath Party at 53 to 61. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s United Thai Nation is projected to win 45 to 53 seats in its first election. Again, these are the results of polling conducted over the past two weeks.
Another projection by the King Prajadhipok’s Institute sees 140 to 141 seats for Pheu Thai and 136 to 137 for Move Forward. United Thai Nation would be in third with 60 to 61 seats.
5:07 p.m. Pheu Thai prime minister candidate Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrives at the party’s headquarters in Bangkok with her husband and daughter. Surrounded by the press at the entrance, she urges reporters to wait for the final results. “If we get the majority, it is our right to form a government,” she says.
5:00 pm. The National Institute of Development Administration releases its final poll of Bangkok voters, conducted over the past two weeks. The Move Forward Party is projected to sweep 32 of 33 districts in Bangkok, the province with the most seats. Pheu Thai is poised to take only one district, according to NIDA’s numbers, as reported by local media.
5:00 p.m. The polls have closed, and the counting is about to begin. We can expect rough results to be known later in the evening.
