Thailand election 2023: opposition delivers crushing blow to military rule

The liberal Move Forward party and the Pheu Thai Party face a challenge to forming government with parliamentary rules favouring army-backed parties

Thailand’s opposition parties secured by far the largest number of votes in national elections, trouncing parties allied with the military and setting the stage for a flurry of deal-making in a bid to end nearly a decade of conservative, army-backed rule.

The liberal Move Forward party and the populist Pheu Thai Party were far out in front with 99% of votes counted, but it’s far from certain either will form the next government, with parliamentary rules written by the military after the 2014 coup skewed in its favour.