Thai voters hand a crushing setback to the military-royalist establishment as the youth-led Move Forward Party surges to the front.
In a surprising rejection of nearly ten years of military and military-backed government, Thailand's reformist opposition has won the most seats and the majority of the popular vote.
On Monday, it was anticipated that the populist Pheu Thai Party and the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) would gain 286 seats out of the 500 seats that were up for election.
Even if the victor of the vote counting was evident by the ballot counting, it is uncertain whether they had the authority to establish the government.
The 250-member Senate will choose Thailand's new prime minister in July following a joint session of the 500-seat House of Representatives.
Thailand's military implemented martial law after seizing control of the country, which resulted in a six-month-long political crisis. The army supported the action, claiming that it was necessary to remove the democratically elected government due to corruption.
Pita Limjaroenrat, 42, the head of the victorious Move Forward Party, declared the election results "sensational" on Sunday and vowed to fulfil the party's campaign promises and uphold its principles when a government is formed.
More than 52 million Thai citizens were eligible to vote in the election. Under the two-ballot system with one vote for the 400 constituency members of parliament (MPs) and another for their preferred party vying for the 100 party-list MPs, voters elected a total of 500 members to the House of Representatives.
The new MPs will then join the 250 senators to elect a new Prime Minister with a simple majority in accordance with the 2017 constitution.
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