BANGKOK—Thailand should have a government that “reflects the will of the people”, regional poll observers said Wednesday, as the victorious opposition’s bid to take power faced resistance from junta-appointed senators.
The progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) emerged from Sunday’s election as the biggest party after voters emphatically rejected nearly a decade of military-backed rule.
Regional observers from the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) saluted the strong voter turnout of just over 75 percent and said the poll was more transparent than the previous one in 2019.
“ANFREL hopes that this general election may result in a government that reflects the will of the people,” the group said in a report.
MFP claimed 152 seats with rival opposition outfit Pheu Thai second on 141 and the two sides will meet for coalition talks later Wednesday.
They are working on a six-party coalition that would give them more than 300 of the 500 lower house seats.
But to secure the prime minister’s job the coalition needs a majority across both houses—including the Senate, whose 250 members were handpicked by the previous junta.
MFP and its allies need 376 lower house votes to ensure senators could not block party leader Pita Limjaroenrat from becoming prime minister.
