Opposition parties take lead in Thai election

Early counts appear to show firm rejection of government as Move Forward and Pheu Thai parties are neck and neck

Opposition pro-democracy parties took the lead in an early vote count in Thailand's national elections, which appeared to signal a firm rejection of the military-backed government that has ruled the country for almost a decade.

According to a preliminary count of more than 80% of the country's 95,000 polling stations, the progressive Move Forward party was projected to win 114 of 400 constituency seats in the House of Representatives, with Pheu Thai taking 112 constituency seats. Voters have two ballots, and so a further 100 party seats in the house ares allocated on a proportional representation basis.