ALBAWABA - With it being the first general elections since the 2014 military coup in Thailand against an elected government, Thais head to polls as the opposition hopes to take down the military-backed government.
According to AFP, Polling stations closed at 5:00 p.m. (1000 GMT) in Thailand with preliminary results expected to be revealed later in the evening.
Palang Pracharath Party has made sudden progress in opinion polls almost a week before the elections, raising concerns about the military-backed party remaining in power.
After counting 94 percent of the votes, Puea Thai, a Thaksin Shinawatra loyalist pro-democratic party, who came first in every election since 2001, has acquired fewer votes than expected. However, the party is still expected to lead the majority of the seats in the parliament.
A number of people have pointed out alleged vote forgery as some claimed that violations have been committed which lead to numbers not adding up.
According to the Thai Electoral Commission, there will be a delay in announcing election results till Monday, even though initially it was supposed to be announced on Sunday.
So far, Palang Pracharath Party has gained 7.69 million votes, while Puea Thai has gained 7.23 million votes, Reuters reported.
In 2014, Thais took it to the streets in hopes to oust the pro-Thaksin Shinawatra government less than two years after its election. Following these demonstrations, the military stepped in to take matters into their hands and “restore order” as the protest took over the country, landing the country in the hands of military-backed leadership ever since.
