The Thailand Election Commission has done the first round of counting of all votes cast in Sundays general election and it’s no surprise that the People’s Power Party ( PPP ) has won 228 parliament seats in the 480 seat house of representatives. The PPP was followed by the Democratic Party which won 166 parliament seats, Chart Thai Party (Thai Nation Party) with 39 seats, and Puea Paendin Party (For the Motherland Party) with 26 seats.

The PPP falls 12 seats short of a simple majority which means there won’t be a single party government. The PPP will have to align itself with one or more other parties to form a coalition government to which end they have already extended an invitation to the other parties. The Democratic Party leaders have already stated they have no intention of joining a coalition where the PPP essentially gets to form the new government. Rather than join in a coalition with the PPP the Democratic Party seems more intent staying on as an opposition party. Party leaders for the Democratic party stated Monday that if the PPP failed to make a coalition government that they would gladly step up to take over and form a new coalition government.

The party or coalition of parties that hold the majority of seats will be empowered to form the new government as well as elect a new prime minister from their ranks in the newly elected parliament.

The Chart Thai Party has already announced its intention to ally with the Puea Paendin Party which will most assuredly happen. The two parties will have a combined 75 parliament seats and major bargaining power in the development of the new government. These two parties will decide who to back in the formation of the new government. Because the PPP doesn’t have the clear majority and the Democratic Party has run a close second these 75 seats will be the key to the new government as well as which of the larger parties holds the most power.

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