Eleven small political parties in Thailand have announced support to the military-backed candidate to form the next government. The announcement came seven weeks after the country's first general election post five years of army rule.<br />''<br />''The military-backed Palang Pracharath party won 115 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, while its rival, the Pheu Thai party associated with self-exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, won 136.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Palang Pracharath is seen as a proxy for the military, which seized power in a 2014 coup. Coup leader Prayuth Chan-Ocha has been prime minister in the military government and is Palang Pracharath's candidate to remain in office as head of an elected government.</span><br />