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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 26 March 2019

Thai parties jostle for power after 1st election since coup

By KAWEEWIT KAEWJINDA the highest popular vote,
STEPHEN WRIGHT which along with the ap-
Associated Press pointed Senate puts Pra-
BANGKOK (AP) — A mil- yuth in a relatively strong
itary-backed party that position to stay in office
based on unofficial results and cobble together a co-
won the most votes in Thai- alition government. Ana-
land’s first election since a lysts say the next govern-
2014 coup said Monday ment is likely to be unstable
that it would try to form a and short-lived, whichever
government, after a rival party leads it.
party also claimed it had The election is the latest
the right to govern. chapter in a nearly two-
The conflicting claims fol- decade struggle pitching
lowing Sunday’s election conservative forces includ-
highlight the deep divi- ing the military against the
sions in Thailand, which has political machine of Thak-
been wracked by political sin, a tycoon who upended
instability for nearly two de- tradition-bound Thailand
cades. politics with a populist po-
Uttama Savanayana, the litical revolution.
head of the Palang Pra- Thaksin was ousted as
charat party that is backed Senior leaders of Pheu Thai party, from left Virot Pao-In, leader and Phumtam Wechayachai, prime minister in a 2006
by junta leader and Prime Secretary General hold a press conference at party head quarters in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, military coup and now lives
Minister Prayuth Chan- March 24, 2019. in exile abroad to avoid a
ocha, said it would contact Associated Press prison term, but parties al-
like-minded parties to form stituency races. The party is said. But the party faces an 350 constituency races but lied with him have won ev-
a new administration. allied with exiled Thai lead- uphill battle because selec- said full vote counts, which ery election since 2001. His
But earlier Monday, Suda- er Thaksin Shinawatra. tion of the next prime minis- are needed to determine sister, Yingluck Shinawatra,
rat Keyuraphan, leader of “As we have said before, ter will be decided by the the allocation of 150 other who led the Pheu Thai gov-
the Pheu Thai party that the party with the most 500-member lower house seats in the House of Repre- ernment that was ousted in
was ousted in the 2014 seats is the one that has as well as a 250-member sentatives, won’t be avail- 2014, also fled the country
coup, said it would try to received the confidence junta-appointed Senate. able until Friday. after what supporters said
form a government be- from the people to set up The Election Commission Unofficial results show was a politically motivated
cause it won the most con- the government,” Sudarat announced the results of Palang Pracharat had prosecution.q

Russia savors Mueller’s report but expects tensions to stay

By NATALIYA VASILYEVA in a dark room, especially favor, he uncovered multi- taxpayer money stemming ately whipping up hysteria
VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV if it isn’t there,” President pronged Russian meddling from the Democrats’ effort about possible collusion to
Associated Press Vladimir Putin’s spokesman and indicted 25 Russians on to discredit Trump. turn American public opin-
MOSCOW (AP) — Rus- Dmitry Peskov told report- charges of hacking Demo- “Colossal efforts and sig- ion against Russia.
sia savored an “I told you ers, insisting that Russia has cratic email accounts and nificant taxpayers’ funds “There were so many fake
so” moment Monday af- never interfered in elec- spreading disinformation have been spent to refute scoops: the one about the
ter special counsel Robert tions in the U.S. or any other on social media. a clear fake,” it said. non-existent back channel
Mueller found no collusion countries. The Russian Foreign Minis- Russian authorities over between Washington and
between President Donald While Mueller found no try rejected those charges the past months have de- Moscow, the one about
Trump’s campaign and evidence Trump’s cam- as “ridiculous” and “po- scribed the Mueller probe the so-called Russia Dossier
Moscow. Government of- paign “conspired or co- litically motivated” and in a language strikingly with the Kremlin’s alleged
ficials also dismissed the ordinated” with Moscow denounced Mueller’s in- similar to that of Trump, compromising information
extensive evidence uncov- to sway the election in his vestigation as a waste of denouncing it as politically on Trump,” said Channel
ered by Mueller of Russian In this Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019 file photo, people walk in driven witch hunt. One’s U.S. correspondent,
cyber-meddling in the 2016 Red Square on a cold day, with St. Basil’s Cathedral in the Russian state-owned Chan- Yulia Olkhovskaya. “But will
presidential election. background, in Moscow, Russia. nel One suggested that U.S. the viewers hear the rebut-
“It’s hard to find a black cat Associated Press media had been deliber- tals now?”.q