2026 Laotian parliamentary election

2026 Laotian parliamentary election

22 February 2026

All 175 seats in the National Assembly 88 seats needed for a majority

Party Leader Current seats LPRP Thongloun Sisoulith 158 Independents – 6 Incumbent President Thongloun Sisoulith LPRP

Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Laos on 22 February 2026.

Background

Laos is a one-party state ruled by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), the sole legal political party in the country. There is no organized opposition or independent civil society able to challenge the party's authority, and independent monitoring of elections is not permitted.

In the previous election held in 2021, the LPRP won 158 of the 164 seats in the National Assembly, with the remaining six seats filled by independent candidates vetted by the party. Ahead of the 2026 election, the size of the legislature was expanded to 175 seats.

Electoral system

The 149 members of the National Assembly are elected for five-year terms from 18 multi-member constituencies with between five and nineteen seats using the multiple non-transferable vote system. Candidates need to gain the support of a local authority or a mass organisation to run for office. In each constituency, voters vote for a list with as many candidates as there are seats to be filled, and the list with the most votes winning all of its seats. The seat distribution dependent on population; each province has a minimum of five seats, with one additional seat for every 50,000 inhabitants starting at 250,000 inhabitants, up to a maximum of 19 seats.