Tycoon Who Surged in Thai Vote Says Poll Credibility Doubted
Tycoon Who Surged in Thai Vote Says Poll's Credibility in Doubt
(Bloomberg) -- A tycoon-turned-politician and critic of Thailand’s military government said questions are being asked about the reliability of Sunday’s election, after initial results put the junta leader in the mix to return to power.
There are reports of many irregularities in the vote, Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit said in a Bloomberg TV interview. The current military administration is likely to form the next coalition government but it’s set to be unstable, he said.
"People now start questioning the credibility of this election" as well as the agency in charge of conducting it, 40 year-old Thanathorn said on Monday. His upstart party garnered more than 5 million votes, a stunning debut that puts it on course for at least 30 seats in the lower house.
The Election Commission released partial seat tallies Monday afternoon, and then revised them soon after, following repeated delays beginning late Sunday that stoked doubts. Instances of reported irregularities included areas where ballots exceeded registered voters, Thanathorn said. His party plans to submit a complaint on deficiencies to the agency, which couldn’t immediately be reached to comment on his criticisms.
Thailand has a troubled history with democracy, including an invalidated election in 2014 before the coup that year. Twitter hashtags such as #Election2019Cheating were trending in the country on Monday.
Social Media
Thanathorn used a savvy social media campaign aimed in part at younger voters, repeatedly attacking the junta and calling for constitutional changes to allow the full return of democracy.
Critics say the military-backed charter, Thailand’s 20th, will allow appointed soldiers and bureaucrats in the junta-appointed Senate to stifle politicians elected to the lower house.
Thanathorn has earned the ire of the generals and could be indicted after officials accused him of spreading false information online. He’s denied the claims and said the authorities are trying to muzzle critics.
Junta Party
A political party created by the military government is leading in the vote count and second in the partial tally of constituency seats. The party, Palang Pracharath, aims to install junta chief Prayuth Chan-Ocha as prime minister of a pro-military coalition administration.
Pheu Thai party, another opponent of the junta, is ahead on seats and may be part of the an opposition bloc along with Future Forward. That signals friction ahead in the legislature.
Thanathorn, whose family controls one of Thailand’s biggest manufacturers -- auto-parts company Thai Summit Group -- said the next government is likely to be unstable.
"There might be another election, there might be another military intervention," he said. "Everything is still on the table."
--With assistance from Suttinee Yuvejwattana.
To contact the reporters on this story: Natnicha Chuwiruch in Bangkok at nchuwiruch@bloomberg.net;Haslinda Amin in Singapore at hamin1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sunil Jagtiani at sjagtiani@bloomberg.net
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