BANGKOK — A pro-military party in Thailand on Monday celebrated its lead in the vote count in this weekend’s elections, hinting that the army’s grip since seizing power in a 2014 coup would likely endure.

The early result, which may not be finalized for days, signaled how Thailand, one of the most stable American allies in Southeast Asia, allows the military to dominate governance, even as other countries in the region have kept soldiers away from politics.

The Sunday vote also showed how the Thai military, which has orchestrated a dozen coups over the past nine decades, is using a fresh tactic: elections to entrench its power.

While voting may nurture democracy elsewhere, Thailand’s political system is strangled by complicated rules designed to perpetuate the military’s authority. Neither the popular vote nor the number of contested seats in this parliamentary election will have much of a democratizing effect.