Move Forward party declares surprise poll victory over Pheu Thai

 

Move Forward Party leader and prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat (C) leaves the party’s headquarters as votes continue to be counted, during Thailand’s general election in Bangkok on May 14, 2023. (Photo by Jack TAYLOR / AFP)

Move Forward party leader Pita Limjaroenrat declared a surprise election victory, beating the Pheu Thai party based on 95% of the vote counted by 1.45am on Monday.

 

In his Tweet, Pita thanked the voters for their overwhelming faith in the party which, he said, will be the core party in the formation of the new government.

 

The party will hold press conferences at noon today (Monday) and again at 5.30pm. Pita will also lead party candidates in a convoy to the Victory Monument and the city square in front of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to thank Bangkok’s people.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/move-forward-party-declares-surprise-poll-victory-over-pheu-thai/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2023-05-15

 

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6 hours ago, MrMojoRisin said:

It will be interesting to see how hard the new government led by Pita goes after the outgoing government for their crimes. No better way to prevent future coups than to lock up the perpetrators of the last coup.

all in 1 cel in bangkok hilton very good idea

5 hours ago, ourmanflint said:

Very good. Thaksin will not be happy his hobby horse has stumbled. Hope this guy gets a chance to run the country without being stabbed in the back by someone or other.

It was clsoe to so it will have to be a coalition goverment with pheu thai. Pita has already stated that he will not work with any of the uncles. 

11 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Looks like it is strengthening this morning.....to be expected if Thailand can enter a more stable and democratic era!

Not sure what you mean by more stable. B ut yes the baht went up, then down, then back up against the USD.

One thing is certain now . Some people will seriously screen Pita's past with the goal to disqualify him from becoming PM ... shares ( Thanathorn ) , everything he ever did will be searched for something that they can glue on him , I  hope they find nothing .

Judiciary procedures against him will make his life more difficult ...

But eliminating him completely will cause civil unrest now that he clearly won .

How will the royal palace react ?

2 hours ago, eisfeld said:

I agree if they were to pull all the tricks in order to block MF+PT to form a proper government then it would probably get ugly. But it doesn't have to be black and white. The senate holds a lot of power. They could extract concessions from the house.

 

For example the topic of mandatory conscription. MF said they want to abolish it. For that, they have to pass a law through the house. But the senate which is controlled by the military has to approve it. So that wont happen. But then what?

 

It's an interesting situation because afaik the house can't push changes to the constituion which enshrines the power of the senate. And because the senate is not elected by the voters, the voters can never push for a change to the current system unless they find a way to get senators on their side.

OK, but seems to me that quite a few of the military apointed senators will realize they can't keep blocking, they need to perhpas slowly go with the new flow. 

 

If they refuse to go with the flow there will be problems and MF could rightly claim the senators (the military) are imorally ignoring the will/desire of the majority of all Thais. More protests by the people?

 

A very small side note: I wonder what the future now holds for the arrogant cha cha supporter who did several years jail time in Australia for drugs?

Edited May 15, 20233 yr by scorecard

Ultra-royalist group Thai Move Institute's worst case scenario. 250 junta-appointed senators not voting for Move Forward PM candidate Pita (due to his party's policy to amend the lese majeste law), thus enabling caretaker PM Gen Prayut to stay on indefinitely

 

https://twitter.com/PravitR/status/1657921914801885184

 

5 hours ago, MrMojoRisin said:

Not sure about that. This result is probably the best scenario for Thaksin. His party is crucial in forming a governing coalition so there is power there whilst he will be able to take a back seat as Move Forward push more controversial reforms through parliament. Thaksin would never take the lead on issues such as lese majeste and military reform but his support will be required for Pita to get these changes legislated. PT ruling in their own right would be fraught with danger, this outcome appears that Thaksin will be able to have his cake and eat it. He should be home this year. The end of the Thaksin era is here as  Move Forward are only going to get stronger and stronger as they implement their policies and the Thai demography continues to change in the favour. What of the conservative side from here on in now that they can no longer rely on coups to gain power? You would think it is a long and barren road ahead for them.

Yes, and if Thaksin decides to return he will get a fair trial with a Move Forward/Pheu Thai colalition.  Pita has already said that Mr Thaksin has the right to come back to his motherland

Congrats to Thailand. I'm happy for the Thai people. Hopefully this will be the start of a positive new change. 

3 minutes ago, Kaopad999 said:

Yes, and if Thaksin decides to return he will get a fair trial with a Move Forward/Pheu Thai colalition.  Pita has already said that Mr Thaksin has the right to come back to his motherland

A fair trial for what charges?

1 minute ago, chrischronic said:

What is gonna happen with the Cannabis law with these results and this party?

Both Move Forward/Pheu Thai are anti weed for recreational use. So i'd guess it will become more of a controlled substance., 
I think Thailand has much bigger problems to deal with right now anyway. 

2 minutes ago, zzaa09 said:

A fair trial for what charges?

We'll have to wait and see if and when it happenes. 

25 minutes ago, wazzupnow said:

all in 1 cel in bangkok hilton very good idea

That'd be amazing to see.  Or maybe prayut and his mates have already jetted off to hide 55555

Edited May 15, 20233 yr by Kaopad999

47 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

People are wondering why Anutin did as well as he has.

 

He was consistently polling around 14th place at around 2% or less.

 

 

 

 

The people who liked pot had to hide it, he actually got more seats as last time. So they voted thinking of the Pot freedom he brought. 

Ultra-royalist group Thai Move Institute's worst case scenario. 250 junta-appointed senators not voting for Move Forward PM candidate Pita (due to his party's policy to amend the lese majeste law), thus enabling caretaker PM Gen Prayut to stay on indefinitely

 

 

Wont happen, MF and PT have the votes to negate the senate.

6 hours ago, ourmanflint said:

Very good. Thaksin will not be happy his hobby horse has stumbled. Hope this guy gets a chance to run the country without being stabbed in the back by someone or other.

Like Thatcher in the UK, it's amazing how Thaksin always gets a mention after being out of power for many years. I would have thought Mr Prayut would be a darned site more peeved than him. Obviously a dyed in the wool yellowshirt.

1 hour ago, MrMojoRisin said:

The people have had enough, the kids are no longer afraid.

Let's see what unfolds in the coming weeks.

Actually, it's better than that.  It's also in the platform of the new winning party apparently.   Per Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/old-rivalries-new-battle-thailand-goes-polls-2023-05-13/) 

<quote>

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, said Move Forward's surge demonstrated a major shift in Thai politics.

"Pheu Thai fought the wrong war. Pheu Thai fought the populism war that it already won," he said.

"Move Forward takes the game to the next level with institutional reform. That's the new battleground in Thai politics."

</end quote>

I like the sound of that!  

If true that’s music to my ears for to long the good folk of Thailand have had to endure a PM who they did not like . What confuses me why it takes so long t announce the winning party as I noted it could take several weeks before ant announcement is this in order to make an attempt to discredit the winning party and possibly bring charges against them. I look forward to seeing a new party taking control along with a new PM but as yet I’m holding my breath as I don’t think it’s going to happen “Out with the old in with the new”

Wait a minute, what's that deep rumbling sound I can hear in the distance? Could it be...

 

16 minutes ago, marin said:

Wont happen, MF and PT have the votes to negate the senate

In the wonderful world of Thai politics, that won't matter. 

2 hours ago, sidneybear said:

Right. We've been in this movie before. At least Thaksin's lot seem to be a spent force, and these western worshipping lefties that have replaced them will soon find out that they won't be able to keep their promises. 

If Thaksin is a spent force whilst perched on 142 seats, how would you describe Prayuth psquatting upon his 36 seats?

1 hour ago, MrJ2U said:

People are wondering why Anutin did as well as he has.

 

He was consistently polling around 14th place at around 2% or less.

 

 

 

 

I don't think it's Anutin that did well rather than BJT did well. My wife dislikes Anutin but says the local BJT candidate here in Kanchanaburi is good and works hard.

3 hours ago, MrMojoRisin said:

All to what end.

Anything other than accepting their election loss leads to either another election in which they would get thumped even harder or a coup which would be met by unrelenting street mobs consisting of the nations youths and rural poor. It's lose-lose for the junta. Time to put the tail between the legs and wander off.

They say that before every coup. I just can't see the military taking this laying down. Good result for Pheu Thai though, gives them a say without having to dodge the incoming hatred of the yellows. Can we anticipate Mr Suthep out with his whistle again? He's been unusually quiet since the military took power.

Going to be an interesting couple of months. I hope Pita and the Move forward party can do. Sadly if I was a betting man, I would put my baht on another Coup or some other under handed skullduggery. After all it is Thailand ????????????????

2 minutes ago, jesimps said:

They say that before every coup. I just can't see the military taking this laying down. Good result for Pheu Thai though, gives them a say without having to dodge the incoming hatred of the yellows. Can we anticipate Mr Suthep out with his whistle again? He's been unusually quiet since the military took power.

My guess is the kids would love the opportunity to hit the streets and finish off the dinosaurs once and for all. Conservatives are going to need to tread very carefully for some time yet.

1 minute ago, Jack Cook said:

Going to be an interesting couple of months. I hope Pita and the Move forward party can do. Sadly if I was a betting man, I would put my baht on another Coup or some other under handed skullduggery. After all it is Thailand ????????????????

You're smart enough to know that. Unlike a lot of people here who think that Thailand is a carbon copy of the west.

1 hour ago, robblok said:

Totally disagree to see this as a win for Thaksin, its a huge loss and humiliation. He needed a landslide victory to get back in Thailand he did not get it. This is the best outcome for Thailand and yes now move forward can try to change things with PTP helping while the Move Forward takes the blame for changes. 

 

Also PTP wanted a landslide win they said it themselves we will win take all important ministries and the rest has to obey us (in a interview not to long ago). In a way the PTP is bad for move forward as it means they have to align with this corruption party to form a government. Not saying Prayut was not corrupt probably just as corrupt. But PTP is not known for its working together but known for corruption. Move forward now cant get away from corruption if it wants to cut a deal. 

 

Still this is a great result, move forward doing better as this would be a dream but not likely. I never expected them to beat Thaksin. Seems Thais are able to learn after all.

 

Must say Prayut still got a lot of votes.

Good comment, agree with just about everything you say, especially that Move Forward couldn’t have hoped for such a significant swing towards them. It’s better for Thailand than anyone could have hoped for.

 

My wife doesn’t drink, but she’s just asked me to take one of my precious bottles of champagne out of the fridge, and she’s got Martha & The Vandellas on loop.

 

Regarding the number of votes for Prayut, remember what Stalin said: "It's not the people who vote that count, it's the people who count the votes"

44 minutes ago, Kaopad999 said:

Yes, and if Thaksin decides to return he will get a fair trial with a Move Forward/Pheu Thai colalition.  Pita has already said that Mr Thaksin has the right to come back to his motherland

But the devil is in the details...

My guess is that Khun Pita would expect these cases strictly follow the letter of the law.  

If Pita becomes PM he can look forward to being targeted by the military, defamed and being overthrown by another military junta once their source of funds dries up 

3 hours ago, rwill said:

Well now we will get to see what really happens.  I wouldn't get to excited yet.

The constitution was rewrote to really try and prevent others from getting in.

Plus the person at the top of it all may have a bigger say in this if he is not happy with how things are going.

Looks like you, like me, are a pessimist as far as Thai politics are concerned. After being here through two coups, it's hard not to be. My missus is over the moon at the result and I'm finding it difficult to infuse a bit of my doubt into her. I don't think we've seen the last of Laurel and Hardy.