Voters’ Will Must Be respected in Thailand’s Government Formation

Malaysia’s Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) calls upon all quarters in Thailand, especially the Senate which consists of 250 military appointees, to respect the will of voters in post-election government formation.

Bersih congratulates the Thai electorate for the high turnout of 35.9 million (75%), showing a strong sense of faith and ownership in democracy.

Bersih hopes that the voters’ will would be fully respected in government formation, in which 500 elected parliamentarians (400 from single-member constituency, 100 from party list) and 250 appointed Senators would jointly elect a Prime Minister, and a 376-seat majority is required.

Two main opposition parties have won a combination of 293 seats, with the Move Forward Party (MFP) leads with 152 seats (113 from constituencies, 39 from party list), followed closely by Pheu Thai Party (PTP) with 141 seats (112, 29).

Bersih cautions that if the new government formed does not reflect the majority’s will, the two-month electoral process would be rendered meaningless, and Thailand may sink into political turmoil, damaging interests of all quarters and even of other countries in the region.

While the MFP and PTP combined are still 83 seats short of a legislative majority, their party list seat gain suggests that they enjoy a clear majority.

In contrast, parties from the outgoing government perform poorly, with Bhumjaithai Party trails with 70 seats (67, 3), followed by Palang Pracharath Party’s 40 (39, 1) and United Thai Nation Party’s 36 (23, 13).

Bersih wishes Thailand the best in finding her path back to democracy, steadily and gradually; and in national reconciliation under a popularly-elected new government.

Released by;
Bersih International Bureau