What will Thailand's parliament look like after the elections?
According to forecasts, after conversion, 95 percent votes Bhumjaithai will have 192 seats in the 500-seat parliamentreformist People's Party – 117and populist group Pheu Thai – 74. This is a much better result for Bhumjaithai than the pre-election polls indicated, which suggested a fierce fight for victory between this party and the People's Party, or even a victory for the latter.
Admittedly, Bhumjaithai will not have an independent majority — which she hasn't had so far either — but given her advantage over the rest of the field, it is almost certain that Anutin will remain prime minister.
Which party won the elections in Thailand?
How many seats did Bhumjaithai's party win?
Who is the current Prime Minister of Thailand?
Does Bhumjaithai have an independent majority in parliament?
The leaders of both major parties made this clear. — Bhumjaithai's victory today is a victory for all Thais, whether you voted for Bhumjaithai or not. We must do our best to serve the Thai people to the best of our ability, Anutin said.
People's Party leader Natthaphong Rueangpanyawut admitted that although some votes have not yet been counted, his party is unlikely to win the election. He announced that his party would not join the government led by Bhumjaithai, but would not try to form a rival coalition either. “If Bhumjaithai manages to form the government, we will have to play the role of the opposition,” he said.
Anutin took the risk. A chance for stable government in Thailand
Everything indicates that Anutin paid off the risk he took. He took over as prime minister only in September last year, after Paetongtarn Shinawatra from Pheu Thai was removed from her position during the border conflict with Cambodia. Despite unfavorable opinion polls, the new head of government dissolved the parliament in December, hoping that the nationalist sentiments in society aroused by the conflict would give him victory.
Bhumjaithai's clear win gives hope for a more stable government than has been the case in recent years. In the last less than three years, Thailand has had three prime ministers and three acting prime ministers.
— For the first time in a long time, we will probably have a government that has enough power to wield it effectively. We are seeing what I would describe as a marriage of convenience between technocrats, conservative elites and traditional politicians, Napon Jatusripitak of the Thailand Future think tank in Bangkok told Reuters.
Simultaneously with the elections, a referendum was held on changing the constitution imposed by the military junta in 2014 to limit the influence of the armed forces and judges on politics. Almost two-thirds of voters supported the parliament starting work on developing a new constitution.
