Thai junta holds onto lead as nation awaits election results 1 SHARES Share it! Nearly 1.9 million votes had been invalidated with 93 percent of votes tallied, the EC said late Sunday. Sunday’s election — seen as a referendum on the military — was held under new rules written by the junta to ease its transformation into a civilian government. Despite that headstart, analysts had not expected the army-linked Phalang Pracharat party to win the popular vote, given anger at junta rule and the enduring popularity of Pheu Thai — the party of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin, the self-exiled billionaire ex-cop turned-Thai premier, who is at the crux of Thailand’s political breakdown, reached out to supporters as the results tipped against his Pheu Thai party.

Source: Manila Bulletin March 25, 2019 07:30 UTC