Elections in Thailand

Some parts of the Government of Thailand are selected through democratic elections. These include the House of Representatives of Thailand, (which combines with the appointed Senate of Thailand to create the National Assembly of Thailand), local Administrations, Governorship of Bangkok and national referendums. Thailand has so far had 28 general elections since 1933; the last election was in 2023. Voting in elections in Thailand is compulsory. All elections in Thailand are regulated by the Election Commission of Thailand.

Latest election

Party		Party-list			Constituency			Total seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	Move Forward Party	14,438,851	37.99	39	9,665,433	25.40	112	151
	Pheu Thai Party	10,962,522	28.84	29	9,340,082	24.54	112	141
	United Thai Nation Party	4,766,408	12.54	13	3,607,575	9.48	23	36
	Bhumjaithai Party	1,138,202	2.99	3	5,133,441	13.49	68	71
	Democrat Party (Thailand)	925,349	2.43	3	2,278,857	5.99	22	25
	Prachachart Party	602,645	1.59	2	334,051	0.88	7	9
	Palang Pracharath Party	537,625	1.41	1	4,186,441	11.00	39	40
	Thai Liberal Party	351,376	0.92	1	277,007	0.73	0	1
	Thai Sang Thai Party	340,178	0.90	1	872,893	2.29	5	6
	New Democracy Party (Thailand)	273,428	0.72	1	13,583	0.04	0	1
	New Party (Thailand)	249,731	0.66	1	1,365	0.00	0	1
	Chart Pattana Kla Party	212,676	0.56	1	297,946	0.78	1	2
	Party of Thai Counties	201,411	0.53	1	1,202	0.00	0	1
	Chart Thai Pattana Party	192,497	0.51	1	585,205	1.54	9	10
	Fair Party (Thailand)	184,817	0.49	1	9,653	0.03	0	1
	New Social Power Party	177,379	0.47	1	20,353	0.05	0	1
	Thai Teachers for People Party	175,182	0.46	1	4,464	0.01	0	1
	Power Party	156,493	0.41	0	2,807	0.01	0	0
	Pheu Chart Thai Party	134,833	0.35	0	19,869	0.05	0	0
	Nation Building Labour Party	130,147	0.34	0	1,200	0.00	0	0
	Thai Pakdee Party	103,472	0.27	0	97,513	0.26	0	0
	Thai Prompt Party	82,965	0.22	0	1,930	0.01	0	0
	Thailand's Future Party	81,718	0.22	0	2,342	0.01	0	0
	New Alternative Party (Thailand)	79,190	0.21	0	11,691	0.03	0	0
	Thai Ruam Thai Party	72,988	0.19	0	996	0.00	0	0
	Ruam Jai Thai Party	72,719	0.19	0	431	0.00	0	0
	Pheu Thai Ruam Palang	67,692	0.18	0	94,345	0.25	2	2
	For the Nation Party	59,571	0.16	0	43,946	0.12	0	0
	Thai Network Party	58,010	0.15	0	107	0.00	0	0
	Thai Citizen Party	57,098	0.15	0	4,165	0.01	0	0
	Change Party (Thailand)	53,706	0.14	0	5,089	0.01	0	0
	Thai Chana Party	45,321	0.12	0	2,443	0.01	0	0
	Power Thai Party	44,131	0.12	0	333	0.00	0	0
	Thai Progress Party	35,094	0.09	0	1,556	0.00	0	0
	Action Coalition Party	33,844	0.09	0	1,553	0.00	0	0
	New Palangdharma Party	33,770	0.09	0	1,593	0.00	0	0
	New Dimension Party	33,558	0.09	0	2,071	0.01	0	0
	Thai Population Party	32,428	0.09	0	3,304	0.01	0	0
	Thai Civilized Party	23,721	0.06	0	33,764	0.09	0	0
	Future Change Party	23,381	0.06	0	1,355	0.00	0	0
	Green Party (Thailand)	22,047	0.06	0	1,597	0.00	0	0
	Thai Morality Party	21,022	0.06	0	765	0.00	0	0
	People Progressive Party	17,686	0.05	0	1,307	0.00	0	0
	Siamese Power Party	17,076	0.04	0	455	0.00	0	0
	Thai One Party	13,605	0.04	0	2,528	0.01	0	0
	Thai Forest Conservation Party	12,601	0.03	0	1,621	0.00	0	0
	Equality Party (Thailand)	11,816	0.03	0	1,577	0.00	0	0
	Thailand Together Party	11,010	0.03	0	89,389	0.23	0	0
	New Aspiration Party	10,891	0.03	0	1,195	0.00	0	0
	Land of Dharma Party	10,875	0.03	0	707	0.00	0	0
	The New Way Party	10,690	0.03	0	17,436	0.05	0	0
	Thai Smart Party	10,463	0.03	0	12,295	0.03	0	0
	Zen-Dai Party	10,410	0.03	0	8,440	0.02	0	0
	Cooperative Power Party	10,158	0.03	0	216	0.00	0	0
	For the Thai Future Party	10,001	0.03	0	897	0.00	0	0
	Palang Thai Rak Chart Party	9,174	0.02	0	132	0.00	0	0
	Democratic Force Party	8,818	0.02	0	296	0.00	0	0
	Klong Thai Party	7,959	0.02	0	50,948	0.13	0	0
	Save the Nation Party	7,759	0.02	0	4,638	0.01	0	0
	Commoners' Party (Thailand)	6,509	0.02	0	0	0.00	0	0
	Rat Withi Party	6,172	0.02	0	4,317	0.01	0	0
	Thai Social Democratic Party	5,860	0.02	0	934	0.00	0	0
	Social Power Party	5,561	0.01	0	356	0.00	0	0
	Thinkakhao Chaovilai Party	5,534	0.01	0	876	0.00	0	0
	Thai People Power Party	5,022	0.01	0	20,940	0.06	0	0
	Chat Rung Rueang Party	4,433	0.01	0	436	0.00	0	0
	Paradonraphab Party	3,455	0.01	0	637	0.00	0	0
	Palang Burapha Party	0	0.00	0	889	0.00	0	0
	Ruktam Party	0	0.00	0	232	0.00	0	0
	Harmony People's Party	0	0.00	0	65	0.00	0	0
None of the above		482,303	1.27	0	866,885	2.28	0	0
Total		38,005,037	100.00	100	38,056,960	100.00	400	500

Suffrage

Example ballot paper on show at voting booth, 2007

Elections are held under universal suffrage in accordance with the 2007 Constitution; however, certain restrictions apply:

• The voter must be a national of Thailand; if not by birth, then by being a citizen for 5 years.
• They must be over 18 years old the year before the year the election is held.
• The voter must have also registered ninety days before the election at his constituency.
• Those barred from voting in House elections are: members of the sangha or clergy, those suspended from the privilege (for various reasons), detainees under legal or court orders, and people of unsound mind or of mental infirmity.

Regarding universal suffrage, Thailand (and Siam) has given women right to vote in national election since 1932, and in village election since 1897, which could make Thailand the second country in the world to do so.

Elections

House of Representatives

Further information: 2023 Thai general election

The House of Representatives consists of 500 members, of which 350 are directly elected through the first past the post system in which each member represents one "constituency". The other 150 is elected through party lists given to the election commission by the political parties before election day. In the current system as laid out by the 2017 constitution, known as "mixed member apportionment (MMA)", the voter casts a single vote for a constituency MP, which is then also used in the calculation of the party list seats. This differs from the previous 2007 constitution, where the vote for constituency MP and party list MP were separate.

Special elections can be called if the candidate fail to pass the commission's standards (known as yellow-cards) or if a vacancy occurs. The commission also have the authority to annul or ban candidates based on their standards (red-cards). The House has a term of four years but may be dissolved before that time.

Senate

The current 250 senators of the Senate of Thailand were not elected, but were appointed by the National Council for Peace and Order, the military junta which ruled Thailand from 2014 to the 2019 general election. The 2017 constitution does not include elections for the Senate.

In the previous 2007 constitution, the Senate was composed of 150 members. Of these, 76 were directly elected, while 74 members were appointed. Of the elected members, 75 came from the Provinces of Thailand, and one from the Bangkok Metropolitan Area. The election was based on the first past the post system. The last election for the Senate under this system occurred in 2014. Under the 2017 constitution, the Senate is indirectly elected by the candidate pool. The most recent election was held in 2024.

The Senate is a non-partisan chamber and therefore candidates cannot be a member of a political party. Terms are fixed at six years.

Election Day during the 2007 general election

Local administration

There are three different levels of municipalities (Thai: เทศบาล), which all elect their own municipal council and mayor. The municipalities are split into constituencies, which each elect six councillors. The number of constituencies depends on the municipal level.

• thesaban nakhon (city): 4 constituencies, 24 councillors.
• thesaban mueang (town): 3 constituencies, 18 councillors.
• thesaban tambon (subdistrict municipality): 2 constituencies, 12 councillors.

The Tambon Administrative Organizations, a local government similar to the municipalities, also has an elected council and mayor. Every administrative village within the TAO sends two councillors to the council, only if there are less than three villages the number of councillors per villages is increased to reach the minimum size of six councillors. Pattaya as a special administrative area has a council with 24 seats and an elected mayor, same as a city.

Additionally, every province has a province-wide local government named the Provincial Administrative Organization with an elected council and chairman. The size of the council depends on the population of the province.

For all the local governments, the electoral term is four years. If a councillor positions becomes vacant, a by-election is held in the corresponding constituency, if a mayor position becomes vacant, a new election for a four-year term is held. Thus elections for mayor and council are not necessarily on the same date.

City of Bangkok

Councils

See also: 2022 Bangkok Metropolitan Council election

Bangkok is divided into 50 local district councils, one for every district. The size of these councils differ between 7 and 8. Additionally, there are 61 seats in the Bangkok Metropolitan Council (BMC). The election follow a four-year cycle. The most recent local election was in 2022.

Gubernatorial

See also: 2022 Bangkok gubernatorial election

The Governor of Bangkok is the only elected Governor in the country. The Governor holds a four-year renewable term. The election does not coincide with that of the district councils or the BMC. The most recent election for Governor of Bangkok was in 2022.

Referendums

Main articles: 2007 Thai constitutional referendum and 2016 Thai constitutional referendum

There has only been two constitutional referendums, in 2007 and 2016.

Issues

There have been many issues especially in recent years concerning elections in Thailand. Accusations of vote buying and blackmail have been most cited. Most accusations leveled concern vote buying, particularly in rural areas where representatives of political parties or district captains are sent out offering up to 2,000 Baht for a vote. Others concern cheating and ballot tampering.

Other issues concern the powers of the Election Commission, an unelected and unaccountable body of five, which has absolute authority to cancel elections at will. It is also the sole arbiter and interpreter of Thai election laws. It has been incredibly active in the last two general elections in annulling and disqualifying candidates.

Voter turnout during elections is not much of a problem in Thailand as voting is compulsory and is one of the responsibilities described in the Constitution a citizen must exercise. Turnout is however much higher during general elections (85% in 2007, 75% in 2019) than they are for Senate (56% in 2008, 43% in 2014) or local elections (54% for Bangkok Governor in 2008).

List of elections

General elections

Election	Date	Prime Minister appointed by Monarch (during term)		Turnout	Seats	Date of dissolution (D) / expiration of term (E) / coup d'etat (C)	Registered voters	Largest party / Seats Share				Monarch
1st	15 November 1933		Phraya Phahonphonphayuhasena	41.45%	78 of the 156		4,278,231					Prajadhipok (Rama VII)
2nd	7 November 1937			40.22%	91 of the 182	(E) 9 December 1937	6,123,239
3rd	12 November 1938		Plaek Phibunsongkhram	35.03%		(D) 11 September 1938	6,310,172					Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII)
			(Khuang Aphaiwong)
			(Thawi Bunyaket)
			(Seni Pramoj)
4th	6 January 1946		Khuang Aphaiwong	32.52%	96 of the 192	(D) 15 October 1945	6,431,827
			(Pridi Banomyong)
—	5 August 1946		Thawan Thamrongnawasawat	34.92%	82 of the 186		5,819,662		Democrat	62		Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX)
5th	29 January 1948		Khuang Aphaiwong	29.50%	99 of the 186	(C) 8 November 1947	7,176,891		Democrat	53
			(Plaek Phibunsongkhram)
—	5 June 1949		Plaek Phibunsongkhram	24.27%	21 of the 207		3,518,276
6th	26 February 1952			38.95%	123 of the 246	(C) 29 November 1951	7,602,591
7th	26 February 1957			57.50%	160 of the 283	(E) 25 February 1957	9,859,039		Seri Manangkhasila	86
8th	15 December 1957		Thanom Kittikachorn	44.07%	160 of the 281	(C) 16 September 1957	9,917,417		Sahaphum	44
9th	10 February 1969			49.16%	219	(C) 20 October 1958	14,820,180		United Thai People's	75
10th	26 January 1975		Seni Pramoj	47.18%	269	(C) 17 November 1971	20,242,791		Democrat	72	17.23%
			(Kukrit Pramoj)
11th	4 April 1976		Seni Pramoj	43.99%	279	(D) 12 January 1976	20,623,430			114	25.31%
12th	22 April 1979		Kriangsak Chamanan	43.90%	301	(C) 6 October 1976	21,284,790		Social Action	82	21.26%
			(Prem Tinsulanonda)
13th	18 April 1983		Prem Tinsulanonda	50.76%	324	(D) 19 March 1983	24,224,470			92	26.78%
14th	27 July 1986			61.43%	347	(D) 1 May 1986	26,160,100		Democrat	100	22.52 %
15th	24 July 1988		Chatichai Choonhavan	63.56%	357	(D) 29 April 1988	26,658,638		Chart Thai	87	19.29%
16th	22 March 1992		Suchinda Kraprayoon	59.24%	360	(C) 23 February 1991	32,436,283		Justice Unity	79	19.27%
			(Anand Panyarachun)
17th	13 September 1992		Chuan Leekpai	61.59%		(D) 30 June 1992	1,860,156		Democrat	79	21.02%
18th	2 July 1995		Banharn Silpa-archa	62.04%	391	(D) 19 May 1995	37,817,983		Chart Thai	92	22.83%
19th	17 November 1996		Chavalit Yongchaiyudh	62.42%	393	(D) 27 September 1996	38,564,593		New Aspiration	125	29.14%
			(Chuan Leekpai)
20th	6 January 2001		Thaksin Shinawatra	69.43%	500	(D) 9 November 2000	42,875,036		Thai Rak Thai	248	39.91%
21st	6 February 2005			72.56%		(E) 5 January 2005	44,572,101			377	60.48%
22nd	2 April 2006	None		64.77%		(D) 24 February 2006	44,909,562		Thai Rak Thai (nullified)	461 (nullified)	59.91% (nullified)
23rd	23 December 2007		Samak Sundaravej	72.40%	480	(C) 19 September 2006	44,002,593		People's Power	233	39.84%
			(Somchai Wongsawat)
			(Abhisit Vejjajiva)
24th	3 July 2011		Yingluck Shinawatra	75.03%	500	(D) 10 May 2011	46,939,549		Pheu Thai	265	47.03%
25th	2 February 2014	None		47.72 %		(D) 9 December 2013	43,024,042	Invalidated
26th	24 March 2019		Prayut Chan-o-cha	74.69%		(C) 22 May 2014	51,239,638		Pheu Thai	136	21.92%	Vajiralongkorn (Rama X)
27th	14 May 2023		Srettha Thavisin	75.64%		(D) 20 March 2023	52,287,046		Move Forward	151	37.99%
			(Paetongtarn Shinawatra)
			(Anutin Charnvirakul)

Senate elections

• 2000 Thai Senate election
• 2006 Thai Senate election
• 2008 Thai Senate election
• 2014 Thai Senate election

See also

• Censorship in Thailand
• Electoral calendar
• Electoral system

External links

• Adam Carr's Election Archive
• Thailand Electoral Commission
• Thailand at the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS)