Too early to say 250 MP seats won by opposition parties: Thailand's pro-Prayut party

BANGKOK, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Leader of Palang Pracharath Party, which supports the Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Uttama Savanayana said on Wednesday that they would wait for the complete election results to be announced by the Election Commission first before declaring to form a new government.

Uttama said it is not the time for the opposition parties to say they have won over 255 seats in the House of Representatives.

During a press conference held to respond to the joint declaration by the six opposition parties this morning, the Palang Pracharath leader said they would wait for the official election results first.

Uttama also confirmed that they are talking with other parties to form a coalition government.

He said he is confident that they can lead a coalition government that has over 250 seats in the lower house, adding that they have won some 7.9 million votes, the most, in the March 24 general election.

Palang Pracharath Party's Secretary-General Sontirat Sontijirawong said the general election this year is different from previous elections as proportional representation is much emphasized and he criticized the opposition parties for issuing the joint declaration.

He also said the opposition parties should not define themselves as "democracy side" and use the word "democracy" to divide Thais.

Earlier on Wednesday, leaders of six opposition parties, led by Pheu Thai Party, convened at a Bangkok hotel to sign a joint declaration on the common resolution to set up a coalition government.

Signing the joint declaration were Pheu Thai, Thai Liberal, Prachachart, Pheu Chart, Palang Puangchon Thai and Future Forward parties.

The March 24 general election is the first since 2014.

So far, the Election Commission has only announced unofficial results of the 95 percent of the votes from constituencies nationwide. It confirmed again on Wednesday that it would release how many votes each party get to figure out exactly each party's party-list seats in the lower house, which will be followed by the formal election results to be released on May 9.

The voting for the post-election prime minister in parliament needs a simple majority of a total 750 lawmakers, consisting of 500 MPs and 250 senators picked by the ruling National Council for Peace and Order headed by Prayut, in accordance with the 2017 constitution.