Thailand¡¯s progressive People¡¯s Party came first in the last election and was leading opinion surveys before this weekend¡¯s vote, but took a beating at the ballot box, raising questions over the popularity of its reform agenda.

Expectations were high ahead of Sunday¡¯s poll but the party ended up a distant second, according to preliminary results, which show it losing nearly 5 million votes in the party list ballot compared with 2023.

The conservative Bhumjaithai party of incumbent Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul came first this time.