Thailand’s ruling conservative party moves closer to forming new coalition government

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s ruling conservative Bhumjaithai Party on Friday moved closer to forming a new government after the Pheu Thai Party, the third place finisher in the country’s general election, agreed to join it in a proposed ruling coalition.

Bhumjaithai won 193 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives in Sunday’s election, according to unofficial results from the Election Commission, positioning it to return incumbent Prime Minister Anutin Charnviraku l to office with a Cabinet of his choosing.

The populist Pheu Thai Party, backed by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, finished third with 74 seats. Together, the two parties would command 267 seats, surpassing the 251 seats required for a majority. Several smaller parties also pledged their support.

Anutin sees a bright future for their partnership

“Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai will look into the future. We agreed that both our parties have people with abilities great enough to lead Thailand into a stable and sustainable future,” Anutin said in a news conference.

He was joined by Pheu Thai leaders, including Yodchanan Wongsawat, a nephew of Thaksin who had been the party’s candidate for prime minister.

The two parties had previously partnered after the 2023 election, when Pheu Thai — then the second-largest party — led negotiations as the senior partner in their government-to-be.

That alliance collapsed last year following controversy surrounding then-Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Thaksin’s daughter, over border tensions with Cambodia. Anutin then secured enough parliamentary support in September to become prime minister.

Addressing their past disputes on Friday, Anutin said that "We must erase everything and move forward.”

Bhumjaithai has announced that six smaller parties with a combined eight seats have also pledged to join its coalition.

The progressive People’s Party, which finished second with 118 seats, has ruled out joining a Bhumjaithai government.

Pheu Thai falls from dominant position

Pheu Thai’s result was considered its worst performance in decades. Electoral politics since 2001 had been dominated by populist parties loyal to Thaksin, who served as prime minister until he was ousted by an army coup in 2006, setting off a tussle for power against Thailand’s conservative royalist-military establishment.

The party alienated some pro-democracy supporters in 2023 by breaking its campaign promise not to align with pro-military parties and instead formed a government including them.

Last year it angered conservatives when Paetongtarn was found to be too chummy with Cambodia’s leader Hun Sen in a leaked phone call. She was kicked out of office for an ethics violation, giving Anutin his chance to take her place.

“For the first time in its history, (Pheu Thai) will be a mid-sized party that can at most play the role of a junior coalition partner," said Ken Lohatepanont, a University of Michigan doctoral candidate in an online commentary on Thai politics. Especially galling was losing all the seats it had held in the northern city of Chiang Mai, Thaksin’s hometown.

He and other election observers suggest that for Bhumjaithai to establish a more stable government, it will invite another major partner — either the fourth-place Kla Tham Party, with 58 seats, or the Democrat Party, Thailand’s oldest, with 22.

Thailand’s business conmmunity hailed Bhumjaithai’s decisive victory, with the hope that it would bring stability as the country struggles with a lagging economy.

Concerns over election irregularities

Negotiations on forming a new government unfolded amid mounting allegations of electoral irregularities, prompting frustrated voters to stage protests in several parts of the country. Demonstrators called for recounts and, in some constituencies, fresh by-elections.

The Asian Network for Free Elections, one of the observer groups in the polls, said the vote was conducted in a generally peaceful and orderly manner. But it flagged “procedural irregularities in several polling stations,” including inadequate public information and inconsistent access for election observers.

The legal monitoring group iLaw, which also observed the election, reported receiving more than 4,000 complaints. These included cases where the number of ballots exceeded the number of eligible voters, officials denying observers access to vote counting, disputes over recount requests, and inaccuracies in the recording of final tallies.

Election results must be certified within 60 days of the election before Parliament can convene and elect a new prime minister.