According to the EC’s announcement on March 29, during early reporting of the election results, its tabulation software had trouble handling data entered simultaneously from several points and sometimes displayed incorrect numbers.
Earlier on March 28, the EC unexpectedly announced the results of the general election
According to the EC, the Palang Pracha Rath party, which backs the incumbent Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, won the largest number of votes with 8.43 million, followed by the main opposition – the Pheu Thai party with 7.92 million votes.
The Future Forward party earned 6.26 million votes, while the Democrats and the Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) gained 3.94 million and 3.73 million votes, respectively.
Voter turnout stood at 74.69 percent with 5.57 percent of invalid votes, similar to the 2011 election.
The votes are used to calculate the number of seats in the House of Representatives of each party. Palang Pracha Rath has obtained 97 seats, while the Pheu Thai won 138.
Previous results announced by the EC were based on 95 percent of counted votes.
However, the results will not be approved until May 9 as relevant agencies need time to handle official complaints, of which there are 186 thus far, said the EC.
The general election in Thailand took place on March 24 with over 50 million people eligible to cast votes.
A total of 81 parties competed in the election, with thousands of candidates vying for 350 constituencies. The other 150 members of the House of Representatives will be elected from the national party lists under a system of proportional representation.
