By Orathai Sriring and Panarat Thepgumpanat
BANGKOK, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Thailand faced a realignment of conservative politics on Monday, with coalition talks expected to start soon after Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s party clinched a stronger-than-expected victory in general elections.
With 94% of votes counted, the ruling Bhumjaithai was way ahead of its rivals after Sunday’s vote, securing 193 of the 500 seats in parliament, according to Reuters’ calculations based on election commission data.
“We need a strong government,” Anutin said in a news broadcast, adding that he wanted to form an administration with a strong majority but was waiting for the final results in a proportional electoral system, where tallies can still change.
The result drove up stocks more than 3% in Southeast Asia’s second largest economy, to their highest in over a year, as the risks of political instability receded and the finance minister vowed to pursue existing stimulus plans.
The left-leaning People’s Party, which led some polls in the run-up to the vote, trailed with 118 seats, while the Pheu Thai Party was third, with 74. A combined 115 seats went to a handful of other parties, the calculations showed.
The result was “a victory for all Thais”, said Anutin, who called the election in December after less than 100 days in office, seeking to ride a wave of nationalism generated by Thailand’s three-week conflict with Cambodia in December.
Bhumjaithai received 30.2% of constituency votes and also took a string of seats from the once dominant Pheu Thai, controlled by the billionaire Shinawatra family.
ANUTIN PROMISES BORDER WALL; STIMULUS PLANS RETAINED
Underscoring the role nationalism played in the vote, Anutin vowed to build a wall along Thailand’s border with Cambodia and strengthen the military.
“I will still have to build the wall,” he added. “And I still believe we need to keep the border checkpoints closed, not open them.”
Anutin previously indicated that if re-elected, he would retain the incumbent ministers of finance, foreign affairs and commerce in a new cabinet.
The new government will proceed with existing stimulus plans, including the second phase of a subsidy scheme to cut living costs, Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said.
“It will build on the previous policies … and will focus more on investment,” he said, adding that the government would pursue long-term measures to “make it big and win”.
Growth could fall below 2% this year as the Thai economy grapples with problems ranging from an appreciating baht currency to U.S. tariffs and high household debt.
VOTERS BACK CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE
The People’s Party has already ruled out the possibility of joining a coalition led by Anutin, with leader Natthaphong Rueangpanyawut saying on Sunday it would not seek to form a rival coalition.
Analysts said Anutin’s party was able to consolidate the conservative vote because of the surge in nationalism over the Cambodia conflict, although January polls had put the People’s Party significantly ahead of Bhumjaithai.
Voters also backed a proposal to change the constitution, with nearly two-thirds in favour of replacing a charter adopted after a 2014 military coup that critics say gave too much power to an undemocratic senate.
Adopting the new constitution is expected to take at least two years, with two more referendums needed to endorse the drafting and a final text.
Anutin vowed not to delay the work on a new constitution, adding, “The government will act according to the people’s will.”
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by David Stanway; Editing by Stephen Coates and Clarence Fernandez)
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