Thai election campaign 'heavily tilted' to benefit junta: Monitor

BANGKOK, Mar 26 (Reuters) : The run-up to Thailand’s weekend vote was “heavily tilted” to benefit a party close to the ruling military junta, an Asian election monitor said on Tuesday, criticizing a messy ballot-counting process that created mistrust.

Persistent confusion about results two days after Sunday’s vote have diminished hopes that the first election since a 2014 military coup would end nearly 15 years of political turmoil in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.

Official results are not due for weeks, but an opposition “democratic front” claimed on Tuesday it had attracted enough coalition partners to form a government, while a pro-army party also declared victory and said it would not accept anyone but junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha as prime minister.

The Bangkok-based Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) stopped short of declaring outright fraud in the election, in which both a pro-junta party and an opposition party linked to a self-exiled former premier have claimed victory.

“The environment at large is heavily tilted to benefit the military junta,” Amaël Vier, an official of the civil society group that seeks to promote democratic elections, told a news briefing.

“A lot of people still express distrust towards the electoral process.”

Asked if the election had been free and fair, another ANFREL official, however, declined to comment directly.

“So many things have to be considered together,” said its mission head, Rohana Nishanta Hettiarachchie. “It is unfair to conclude that the whole process was free and fair or not.”

Thailand’s Election Commission was not immediately available for comment. It has previously declined to comment on accusations of cheating.

With only partial results reported, the party backing junta leader Prayuth has said it is gathering coalition partners to form a government.