THAILAND

ELECTIONS HELD IN 2005
 

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Chamber:
  Saphaphuthan Ratsadon
 
Dates of election / renewal (from/to):
  6 February 2005
  6 February 2005
 
Purpose of elections:
  Elections were held for all seats in the House of Representatives on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
 
Background and outcome of elections:
  A parliamentary election for the House of Representatives (Saphaphuthan Ratsadon) was held on 6 February 2005 in Thailand. A total of 2,259 candidates from 25 parties ran for 500 seats: 400 single-constituency seats and 100 from lists drawn up by each political party. A total of 44.8 million of the nation's 63 million inhabitants were eligible to vote.

Among key issues, the tsunami disaster of 26 December 2004, which killed at least 5,300 people in Thailand, was voters' primary concern. The prompt intervention of the Thai government during the crisis appears to have boosted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's popularity. The unstable situation in the southern part of the country, where more than 500 people had been killed since January 2004, seems to have taken second stage in the campaign.

Before the catastrophe, violence in the provinces and the government's slow reaction to the recent bird flu crisis were expected to negatively impact the ruling Thai Love Thai (Thai Rak Thai, or TRT) party, led by Mr. Thaksin, since much of the party's support comes from rural voters. TRT's main challenger, the Democrat Party (PD/DP), whose main stronghold is in the south of the country, pledged more jobs, free education and health care.

According to the Election Commission, turnout was recorded at over 75 per cent, up from the 69 per cent in the 2001 election. In order to prevent vote-buying, the Election Commission had banned voters from using mobile phones in polling booths. It suspected that some people would photograph their ballot papers as proof to claim payment from political parties.

The results show that the TRT's economic policy and its plan to build new roads were supported by many voters. TRT captured 377 seats, a big jump from 248 in the previous parliament, while the Democrat Party (PD/DP) won only 96, down from 128. TRT's coalition partner, Chart Thai (Thai Nation), which campaigned against corruption and criminality, won 25 seats, and the newly formed Mahachon Party, composed of many former Democrats, won 2 seats. Democratic Party leader Banyat Bantadtan said he would step down, taking responsibility for his party's defeat.

Mr. Thaksin became the first prime minister ever to win a second term in Thailand. His party received the highest number of seats in the House of Representatives. It therefore became the first party to form a government alone, with the strongest parliamentary majority.

However, his second consecutive term as prime minister lasted only one year. Following recent political allegations against his premiership, he dissolved the House of Representatives on 24 February 2006 and called an election, to be held on 2 April 2006.
 
STATISTICS
 
Round no 1 (6 February 2005): Election results
Number of registered electors 44'846'472
Voters 33'693'624 (75.13%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers 1'934'311
Valid votes 31'759'313
The statistics based on provisional results with 88% vote counted.
 
 
Round no 1: Distribution of votes
 
Political Group Candidates Votes %  
Thai Rak Thai (TRT) 500  
Democrat Party (PD/DP) 493  
Chart Thai 362  
Mahachon 399  
 
Round no 1: Distribution of seats
 
Political Group Total Majority Proportional
Thai Rak Thai (TRT) 377 310 67
Democrat Party (PD/DP) 96 70 26
Chart Thai 25 18 7
Mahachon 2 2 0
 
Comments:
Source:
- ABC Online (www.abc.net.au)
- BBC News
- CNN
- IPU Thai Group (22.03.2005)
- House of Representatives (23.03.2006)

A male MP passed away in July 2005 and replaced by a female MP, bringing the total number of women to 54 (IPU Thai Group, 31.01.2006).
 
Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men: 447
Women: 53
Percent of women: 10.60
 
Distribution of seats according to age:
21 to 30 years 5
31 to 40 years 57
41 to 50 years 211
51 to 60 years 140
61 to 70 years 67
Over 70 years 20
 
Distribution of seats according to profession:
Others       229
Business/trade/industry employees, including executives       133
Civil/public servants/administrators (including social/development workers)       38
Legal professions       32
Medical professions (doctors, dentists, nurses)       13
Farmers/agricultural workers (including wine growers)       12
Military/police officers       9
Media-related professions (journalists/publishers)       5
Engineers/PC experts       4
Liberal professions (including artists, authors) and sports professionals       4
Consultants       2
NGO workers       1


 
 

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