Abhisit says Democrats ready to serve as opposition
Abhisit Vejjajiva said the Democrat Party is ready to serve as the opposition after a Bangkok defeat, with the party expecting around 20 seats from early tallies.
Democrat Party leader and prime ministerial candidate Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Sunday night the party was prepared to take on an opposition role in the House of Representatives, as early unofficial results suggested the Democrats would secure around 20 seats, plus or minus.
Speaking at Democrat Party headquarters at 8.47pm, Abhisit thanked voters — especially those who backed the Democrats — and said the party would respect the public’s decision as counting continued.
Admits Bangkok defeat, but points to stronger party-list showing
Abhisit acknowledged the party had fallen short in Bangkok, while stressing that the party’s party-list support appeared to have increased significantly compared with previous elections.
He added that the party’s candidates, especially in Bangkok, remained encouraged and were ready to continue working with the party, believing that what the party had done over the past three to four months was only the beginning of efforts to persuade the public and build support for the Democrats’ approach to politics.
At the height of the Democrats’ popularity, Bangkok was a key stronghold for the party. Unofficial results showed that the People’s Party swept all 33 of Bangkok’s House seats.
He said initial checks indicated that in the South and even in Sukhothai, the party’s party-list vote ranked first in many areas. He added that constituency outcomes were still being tallied, but he expected the party to improve on its previous number of constituency MPs once vote aggregation was complete.
“Eyes and ears” for the public in parliament
Abhisit said the Democrats would work “intensively” in parliament, particularly on the issue the party emphasised during the campaign — fighting corruption and ensuring clean governance.
He said the party would act as the public’s “eyes and ears” to keep government actions on the right track and to push for integrity in public administration.
Government formation still unclear, conditions unchanged
Abhisit said uncertainty remained high over government formation, and it was too early to speak in detail about potential coalitions.
Asked about the party’s position if invited to join a coalition, he said any decision would depend on conditions the party had previously announced, reiterating that the Democrats would not support any arrangement linked to “grey money” or corruption.
He added that the party had not been contacted about coalition talks as of Sunday night.
