- Title: Thai People's Party leader says unlikely to finish top in election
- Date: 8th February 2026
- Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (FEBRUARY 8, 2026) (REUTERS) PEOPLE'S PARTY MEMBERS STANDING AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) PEOPLE'S PARTY PRIME MINISTERIAL CANDIDATE NATTHAPHONG RUENGPANYAWUT, SAYING: "Despite the final result doesn't show up now but if we see the current result, we are quite sure that we cannot win in this election." NATTHAPHONG STANDING AT NEWS CONFERENCE (
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Election People's Party Thailand Vote poll result
- Location: BANGKOK, THAILAND
- City: BANGKOK, THAILAND
- Country: Thailand
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001372008022026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The leader of Thailand's People's Party said on Sunday (February 8) that it was unlikely his party would finish first in the country's general election.
Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said at a news conference on Sunday that the party would not join a Bhumjaithai-led government, but would also not form a competing coalition.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's Bhumjaithai Party took an early lead in Sunday's general election, though the three-way battle is unlikely to give any single party a clear majority, potentially prolonging the specter of political instability.
One supporter of the People's Party, 60-year-old Aomjit Waneejitwong, watching the results come in on a big screen said she didn't want to accept the results. Another, 26-year-old Pisoot Foutawekij, said he would continue to fight for change.
With a message of structural change and reforms to Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, the People's Party had led most opinion polls during the campaign season.
But in a survey conducted during the campaign's final week and released on Sunday, the National Institute for Development Administration projected that Bhumjaithai would be the winner with between 140 and 150 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, ahead of 125-135 for the People's Party.
With nearly 80% of polling stations reporting, preliminary results released by the election commission showed Anutin's Bhumjaithai Party with a sizeable lead over the progressive People's Party in second place, followed by the Pheu Thai Party.
(Production: Artorn Pookasook, Napat Wesshasartar, Juarawee Kittisilpa) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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