Preliminary results from Thailand's national elections show that opposition pro-democracy parties have taken the lead, which is seen as a firm rejection of the military-backed government that has ruled the country for almost a decade. The progressive Move Forward party is in the lead with a projected 117 seats in the House of Representatives, while Pheu Thai is second with 112 seats. The party of the incumbent, Prayuth Chan-ocha, had a projected 24 seats. Move Forward, which has built a strong following among young people, has outperformed expectations. Pheu Thai has won the most seats in every election since 2001. Prayuth has run a strongly nationalistic election campaign, warning that opposition parties’ promised reform will bring chaos.
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