In Thailand, seven political parties, led by one ousted from power in a military coup, said that they believed they won enough seats in the recent general elections to form the next government.<br />''<br />''The announcement came amid concerns about potential irregularities in Sunday's vote. The vote was the first since a 2014 coup. Official results are due in May.<br />''<br />''The leader of the Pheu Thai party, which headed the last elected government, and the leaders of five other parties, believed they had won more than 250 seats in the 500-seat lower house.<br />''<br />''The Election Commission, appointed by the ruling junta's hand-picked legislature, delayed the release of a full preliminary vote count twice before. It has now said it will release its final preliminary results on Friday.<br />''<br />''The incomplete results reported so far show Pheu Thai won the most seats, while the military-backed Palang Pracharath party appeared to have received the most votes. Both have said those results mean they have a mandate to form the next government.<br />''<br />''Even if the Pheu Thai-led coalition comes together and it secures more than 250 lower house seats, it may not get to form the government due to the country's new political system.<br />''<span style="color: #222222;"><br />''The vote for prime minister will likely take place sometime in May and give Palang Pracharath's candidate, current junta leader and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a considerable advantage. </span><br />