BANGKOK — Thailand’s election commission faced pressure on Wednesday over an alleged lack of transparency in vote counting across more than a dozen constituencies following Sunday’s general election that was swept by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s party.

Almost immediately after polls closed at 5 p.m. (1000 GMT) on Sunday, members of the public flagged irregularities in the vote count on social media.

These included videos showing ballots being counted in the dark, valid votes incorrectly marked as spoiled, and discrepancies between figures recorded at polling stations and those entered into the election commission’s online system.

Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the claims.

The People’s Party, which led most pre-election polls but came in a distant second behind Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party, said it accepted the results but has sought recounts in 18 constituencies.

The third-placed Pheu Thai Party backed a review in areas where the public has raised doubts, while the pro-military United Thai Nation Party called for a nationwide recount.

“If the election commission didn’t do anything wrong, a recount – no matter how many times – would lead to the same result,” Rukchanok Srinork, a winning People’s Party candidate, told reporters. “Then, why not do a recount, so that people can see the result clearly?”

‘PUBLIC WILL LOSE CONFIDENCE’
With nearly 95% of polling stations reporting, preliminary results showed the Bhumjaithai Party leading with 193 of the 500 parliamentary seats.

The results have yet to be officially certified by the election commission, a process that must be completed within 60 days of the general election.

“If transparency is not shown quickly, the public will lose confidence,” former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who leads the Democrat Party, told reporters on Wednesday. “Whenever a process does not have legitimacy, we have seen how it goes in other countries.”

The situation has sparked small protests nationwide, with a Thai hashtag #RecountForTheWholeCountry trending on X in Thailand since Monday.

The election commission said as of Wednesday, it had received 113 formal complaints, all of which were being investigated.

“If an incident occurred at any polling station – whatever the shortcoming – you can file a complaint,” Phasakorn Siriphakayaporn, deputy secretary-general of the Election Commission, said at a press conference. “We will ensure fairness.”

Vote62, an independent election watchdog, has recorded more than 5,000 complaints nationwide, including over 1,000 cases where official vote count tallies at polling stations differed from those of independent observers, according to its website.

BADMINTON COURT PROTEST
At a badminton court used to store ballot boxes in Chonburi province, around 80 kilometers from the capital Bangkok, dozens of people sat in protest on Wednesday, demanding a recount.

Local voters and election commission officials have clashed following allegations that discarded tally sheets found in the area did not match officially reported results and ballot boxes did not have the mandatory cable tying the lids shut.

The commission said on Tuesday that it would take two days to investigate the allegations in Chonburi before deciding whether to recount, while rejecting broader criticism over transparency.

Prime Minister Anutin, who has said that he is awaiting official results before deciding on a coalition, told reporters on Tuesday that government formation could wait if there are reasons for a vote recount.

“If a recount can put people’s minds at ease, then the election commission should consider it under the law,” he said. “The government can wait, and continue in a caretaker role.” — Reuters

KAMPOT, Cambodia — Cambodia has closed almost 200 scam centers in a crackdown on transnational fraud in recent weeks, a senior government official said, with authorities providing rare access to one center in a bid to show they are tackling the sophisticated operations targeting people across the globe.

“There are about 190 locations that we have sealed off now,” Chhay Sinarith, senior minister and chair of Cambodia’s Commission for Combating Online Scams, told Reuters in Phnom Penh this week before the visit to a sprawling complex in Kampot province near the Vietnam border.

Mr. Chhay said 173 senior crime figures linked to the centers had been arrested and 11,000 workers deported in a campaign that began late last year after the US indicted and then China extradited a China‑born alleged scam kingpin in the strongest international move so far against the criminal networks.

Since then, thousands of scam workers, some of them trafficking victims confined in brutal conditions, have fled compounds in recent weeks seeking to return home, in what Amnesty International has called a “humanitarian crisis.”

At the Kampot compound, reporters were shown large work rooms with rows of computer stations and desks strewn with documents instructing how to scam Thai victims, as well as studio booths for phone calls and a fake Indian police station.

The Indian embassy in Phnom Penh did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Authorities said there were no arrests made inside the Kampot casino complex known as My Casino. Workers fled after the detention of alleged boss and tycoon Ly Kuong, and police said they lacked the manpower to detain those leaving.

Contact details for representatives of Ly Kuong, who is under arrest, were not immediately available.

“We have only about 1,000 policemen in the entire province and there are about 300 military policemen,” said Kampot provincial police chief Mao Chanmothurith during the government‑organized tour. “Even with both forces combined, we still can’t stop them because there were about 6,000 to 7,000 of them when they left this place,” he said.

The visit came a week after Thai officials led media and foreign delegates to see a separate compound, in Cambodian territory that Thai troops bombed and occupied during a border conflict in December. Reuters found similar materials, including fake police stations from multiple countries, as well as reams of documents.

Cambodia long played down the existence of scam compounds in the country, and previous crackdowns have done little to stop their spread. Officials say the latest campaign is broader in scope, with a focus on closing sites and detaining senior figures. — Reuters

KARACHI — Pakistan’s central bank chief expects the economy to grow as much as 4.75% this fiscal year, pushing back against a recent downgrade by the International Monetary Fund.

Governor Jameel Ahmad, in written responses to Reuters, argued the recovery is broader and more durable than headline export data suggest.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) raised its FY26 growth forecast to 3.75–4.75% at its January meeting, 0.5 percentage point higher than its previous range, despite a contraction in exports in the first half of the year and a widening trade deficit.

The governor said differences in projections were not unusual and reflected timing issues, including the IMF’s incorporation of flood-related assessments in its latest outlook.

“All these sources and indicators, along with FY26-Q1 data, point to a broad-based recovery in all three sectors of the economy,” he said. He added that the central bank believed that agricultural activity had remained resilient despite floods and “it is even performing better than its targets.”

He added that financial conditions had eased significantly following a cumulative 1,150‑basis‑point cut in the policy rate since June 2024, and that the full impact was still feeding through. This, he said, was supporting growth while preserving price and economic stability.

The central bank last month held its benchmark rate at 10.5%, defying expectations for a cut.

The divergence with the IMF comes at a delicate moment for Pakistan, which is emerging from a balance-of-payments crisis under a $7 billion IMF program.

EXPORT DRAG, REMITTANCE CUSHION
Pakistan’s previous growth spurts have often led to currency pressure and a decline in foreign exchange reserves, making the sustainability of the current rebound a key question for investors.

Mr. Ahmad said high-frequency indicators and 6% growth in large-scale manufacturing in July–November point to strengthening demand, while agriculture has remained resilient despite last year’s floods, he said.

While exports declined in the first half of the fiscal year, Mr. Ahmad said the fall reflected low global prices and border disruptions rather than softer activity.

He said the current account deficit should stay within 0–1% of GDP, as strong remittances offset the wider trade gap and lift reserves above program targets, with further gains expected due to Eid festival-related inflows.

“Additionally, if the government decided to tap global capital markets for any debt issuance, then that would be on the upside of our current assessment,” he said.

Pakistan plans to issue panda bonds, a yuan-denominated debt sold in China’s domestic market around the upcoming Lunar New Year, as part of efforts to diversify external financing and broaden its investor base.

He said the central bank has been consistently purchasing dollars in the interbank market to strengthen foreign exchange buffers, with data published regularly.

He said that while economic stability has improved, structural reforms remain key to sustaining stronger growth and improving productivity. — Reuters

TAIPEI — The delay in passing a $40 billion special military budget risks a “rupture” in the joint line of defense against China, Taiwan’s defense minister said on Wednesday, as President Lai Ching-te urged the opposition-controlled parliament to approve the spending measure.

Mr. Lai last year proposed the defense boost to counter China, which views the island as its own territory. But the opposition has refused to review the proposal and instead advanced its own, less expensive proposals, which only fund some US weapons.

The main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT), whose vice chairman visited Beijing last week, said it supports defense spending but will not sign “blank cheques” and has a right to fully scrutinize the legislation, blaming Mr. Lai for the impasse.

Speaking to reporters at the presidential office, Mr. Lai said he had never asked lawmakers to pass the spending unconditionally, reiterating that the government was happy to provide a detailed explanation on its plans.

“But national defense, so closely tied to national security, sovereignty, and our very survival, should be an area where we unite and present a common front to the outside,” Mr. Lai said.

Countries including Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines are all boosting their defense spending, he added.

Speaking at the same news conference, where the heads of the army, navy and air force all attended, Defense Minister Wellington Koo said the government had had intensive talks with the US on what weapons Taiwan needed.

“In the Indo-Pacific, especially among the countries along the first island chain, Taiwan plays a uniquely critical, almost fated, role,” Mr. Koo said, referring to an area that stretches from Japan down through Taiwan and into the Philippines.

“We do not want Taiwan to become the rupture in the Indo-Pacific collective deterrence posture.”

The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, and arms sales to Taipei are a constant source of friction between Beijing and Washington.

The US has backed the $40 billion spending plan, and in December the Trump administration announced $11.1 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, the largest ever US weapons package for the island.

Speaking in Beijing on Wednesday, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said it was up to China how to “resolve” the Taiwan issue, and the US should “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs”.

Mr. Lai said Taiwan’s strengthening of its defense is not because it wants to invade anyone, but because it wants to safeguard its way of life.

US lawmakers have pushed for Taiwan’s parliament to pass the spending plans, and some have criticized the opposition for blocking Mr. Lai’s plans and cosying up to Beijing.

“China’s threat is becoming increasingly serious. Taiwan’s defense budget must be passed smoothly. This represents Taiwan’s resolve, and it also shows that Taiwan is fulfilling its responsibilities as a member of the international community,” Mr. Lai said. — Reuters