A political party linked to exiled tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra claimed victory in Thailand's election and said it would seek to form a government, challenging a military-backed group that led in initial vote counts and has also said it won.

Pheu Thai won the most seats in the election and the military-appointed Senate should follow the wishes of voters, Sudarat Keyuraphan, the party's candidate for prime minister, told reporters in Bangkok on Monday. While local news outlets showed the party winning the most seats, election authorities still haven't released official tallies.

"We'll try to form a government coalition right away because that's how people voted," Sudarat said. "We stood by our position that we won't support the continuation of the military regime."