By Jintamas Saksornchai and Asaree Thaitrakulpanich

BANGKOK — The Pheu Thai Party said Wednesday it would form a coalition with six other parties to become the next government of Thailand.

Pheu Thai jumped ahead of pro-junta Phalang Pracharath Party to announce its coalition bid with the Future Forward, Seri Ruam Thai, Prachachart, Puea Chat, New Economics and Thai People Power parties, saying they have reached enough seats to hold a majority in the lower house.

“Pheu Thai has been firm, since our first day of campaigning until election day, that we want to stop the NCPO’s power,” Pheu Thai prime minister candidate Sudarat Keyuraphan said. “We want to carry out the intentions of the people, since we have gotten the majority. We have at least 255 seats, although the numbers are not final yet.”

Update: Pro-Junta Party Furious at Pheu Thai Coalition Bid

Leaders of the coalition parties including Future Forward’s Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, Seri Ruam Thai’s Sereepisut Temeeyavets and Prachachart’s Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, were also present at the news conference held Wednesday morning. New Economics’ Mingkwan Sangsuwan was absent but has said he would later hold a separate press conference.

Bhumtham Vecchayachai of Pheu Thai noted the New Economics Party’s absence but said that the party has committed to joining with them.

Bhumjaithai and Democrat parties, which came in fourth and fifth respectively in the election and therefore may heavily tip the scales of power, are keeping their allegiances under wraps. Democrat’s Korn Chatikavanij however has said it would be “impossible” for him to join Pheu Thai.

Sudarat today slammed the election irregularities which she said were caused by “secret power.” Yesterday, she criticized the pro-junta party which nominated Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha to be the next prime minister for trying to form a coalition although it didn’t win the most seats in Sunday’s election.

Thanathorn, who has endorsed Pheu Thai’s legitimacy in forming a government, said he and the others would work to end the power of the military government, also known as the National Council of Peace and Order or NCPO.

“Me and other political parties here will work together to end the NCPO’s power, which we believe is the desire of the majority,” he said. “The most suitable prime minister for Thailand today is khun ying Sudarat.”

Thanathorn formerly sat on the board of Matichon, which owns Khaosod English.

Sereepisut called for others who haven’t made a decision to join their cause.

“I want to invite all parties, big and small, to join us,” he said. “Otherwise you will be colluding in them continuing their rule.”

He also called for Prayuth to resign.

“Prayuth, sacrifice yourself. Resign now,” he said. “The media, don’t you guys agree? If you agree, put your hands together,” he said to applause.

Prachachart leader Wan Muhamad censured the junta for deteriorating the country’s economic performance.

“The economy has been dismal since the junta came into power,” he said. “Which investor wants to take a risk with a government held by a thread?”

Songkram Kitlertphairote of the Puea Chat, a network party of Pheu Thai, called on the Election Commission to act transparently.

“This is the first page of history. If you do well, then this will impact favorably upon your family and Thailand,” Songkram said. “Citizens have already raised questions about your conduct.”

Even the small party Thai People Power Party, which won one seat, joined and called out to other small parties and parties on the fence to join the coalition.

“We were watching TV. We had 103,000 votes when they suddenly dropped to 75,000. I wonder where our votes went,” party leader Nikom Boonwiset said. “We are a small party. Don’t let our votes disappear.”

He said that some small parties were thinking of joining with Phalang Pracharath. “Some parties think they will get more power if they go to the other side. This is how small parties think,” he said.

The Phalang Pracharath has claimed its rights to form a government as it won the highest number of votes. Its leaders said earlier this week they have already started discussing a coalition with other parties, though they did not identify any by name.

As the party leaders and MPs were touring parts of Bangkok this morning to thank their supporters, Uttama Savanayana declined to comment when reporters asked him about Pheu Thai’s coalition pact.

Additional reporting Chayanit Itthipongmaetee and Teeranai Charuvastra

BANGKOK — The only accredited international observers present at the general election said Tuesday that the polls had been peaceful but not fair, because the incumbent prime minister – who is also a candidate – will handpick all senate members.

The Asian Network for Free Elections, or Anfrel, said the management of ballots at Sunday’s poll was “deeply flawed,” leading to the announcement of preliminary results that were “wildly inaccurate” and damaged the “perceived integrity of the general election.” Under the constitution, the junta headed by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha will appoint all senators – who will also get to vote for the next premier.

Anfrel, said there was no reason to believe reporting problems affected the overall results, but that the pre-election context needs to be taken into consideration.

“You know. All of you know. It’s the legal framework. We can’t change that,” Rohana Hettiarachchie, Anfrel’s head of mission, replied when asked if the election had been rigged. “[Pre-election] is not met with the standard, but again … it’s a journey … not a democratic platform … I think it takes time.”

Thailand’s Election Commission has already defended the counting of votes in Sunday’s election, blaming the media’s failure to keep up with the raw data, and said full preliminary results would be released Friday.

A military-backed party and the party whose government was ousted in a 2014 coup both claim they should form the next government. The preliminary results show the anti-junta Pheu Thai Party won the most seats, while the military-backed Phalang Pracharath Party appeared to have gotten the most votes.

The confusing release of results was the main problem Anfrel noted on Election Day itself, becoming a concern after the count had been recorded at local polling stations and was then sent along to the Election Commission.

“Our understanding is it was technical difficulties or they overestimated the difficulty of the task,” said Amaël Vier, Anfrel’s program officer for capacity building and international elections. “We’d just like to know more, what was the procedure, what was the data? We have no reason to believe it affects the overall outcome, we just, we need more at this time.”

Anfrel’s 12-page report was sharply critical of the Election Commission’s performance, especially for its lack of transparency over the counting process but also for its alleged failure to provide sufficient and accurate information about the election to voters.

If voters trusted the system,” there may not be a question about the delay of the counting event,” said Anfrel Secretary-General Rohana Nishanta Hettiarachchie.

Anfrel’s report made no specific mention of serious allegations that had started circulating on social media about the number of ballots exceeding voters in some areas, and turnouts said to be twice the number of registered voters.

“Polling stations were found to be peaceful, orderly, and generally well-managed,” it said.
Thailand’s main poll-watching organizations have not yet publicly addressed most of the allegations.

Anfrel’s most serious criticism concerned the legal framework under which the election took place.

Many human rights and pro-democracy groups said before the election that Thailand’s constitution and election rules were unfairly set up to limit the power of elected politicians and ensure the continued dominance of the military and other traditionalist institutions.

Anfrel said the rules meant Thailand would have “a form of guided democracy rather than a fully-fledged democracy,” though it acknowledged the election was a step toward “genuine popular representation in governmental affairs.”

Story: Kaweewit Kaewjinda

Additional reporting: Pravit Rojanaphruk