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An officer stands guard at a polling station in Yala Province, Thailand, on March 24, 2019. REUTERS / Surapan Boonthanom

The party of the junta in power in Thailand arrived Sunday night ahead of the popular vote in the first legislative elections since the coup d'état of 2014.

With our correspondent in Bangkok, Carole Izou

With nearly a million votes in advance, according to the results of 90% of the votes cast, the former soldiers seem to have won the legitimacy they needed, the legitimacy of the ballot box that was demanded by the international community.

According to preliminary results, on this count, more than 7.3 million Thai voters (out of a total of some 50 million) voted for the junta party, the Palang Pracharat, according to the electoral commission. Arrived behind him, with 6.8 million voters, the largest opposition party, the Pheu Thai.

Tonight, at the Palang Pracharat party headquarters, the officials are satisfied, but they are not yet screaming for victory and are ready to discuss with some parties to establish their majority on a coalition. The disappointment is obviously very harsh in the case of opposition to the junta.

One of the explanations for this result may lie in a recent very social shift by the junta.

Several irregularities have been reported. The elections also brought a newcomer to the Thai political scene, Anakot Maï, the youth-oriented New Future Party, which achieved an excellent score tonight with at least 5 million votes. Its founder, billionaire billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, could end up playing a key role.