| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Rathasapha / National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Saphaphuthan Ratsadon / House of Representatives |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Wuthisapha / Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
23 December 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Representatives. |
The December 2007 elections were the first to be held following a military takeover in September 2006 which ousted the then Prime Minister
Shinawatra Thaksin. His Thai Love Thai (Thai Rak Thai
TRT) party had won 377 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives in the February 2005 elections. However
his second term as prime minister lasted only one year.
Following political allegations against his premiership
Mr. Thaksin dissolved the House of Representatives on 24 February 2006 and called early elections for 2 April. The elections were boycotted by the major opposition parties and invalidated by the Constitutional Tribunal on 8 May. New elections were subsequently scheduled for October 2006. As a result of the September takeover
these elections could not take place and the King appointed an interim legislative body
the National Legislative Assembly on 12 October 2006.
The adoption of a new Constitution on 19 August 2007 opened the way to a return to democracy. At stake in the 2007 elections were the 480 seats in the new House of Representatives.
The TRT had been dissolved by the Constitutional Tribunal in May 2006
and exiled former prime minister Thaksin was barred from running in the 2007 elections
along with 111 former TRT executives. Mr. Thaksin's supporters formed the People's Power Party (PPP) prior to the elections
whose candidates included children of barred former TRT members. The PPP leader Mr. Samak Sundaravej pledged to allow Mr. Thaksin's return to the country so he could "prove his innocence". The PPP promised to give priority to economic recovery.
The Democratic Party (DP
which took 96 seats in the 2005 elections)
was led by Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva. It pledged to fight corruption and improve the country's economic situation within 99 days. Its leader said his party would not join a PPP-led government. Other contenders included the Chartthai Party (meaning "Thai Nation" - CPT)
led by Mr. Banharn Silpa-Archa and the Puea Pandin Party (meaning "For the Motherland" - PP) of Mr. Suwit Khunkitti. Former members of the TRT also contested the elections in other small parties.
Most political parties promised to tackle corruption
provide better health care
education and infrastructure
and at the same time improve the economy. Local analysts predicted none of the main parties would win an outright majority
and that the PPP would become the largest party.
On 23 December
74.45 per cent of the 44 million registered voters turned out at the poll.
The PPP fared well in rural areas in the northern part of the country where the TRT had its stronghold
while the DP led in the capital Bangkok and in southern Thailand.
Preliminary results gave the PPP 233 seats and the DP 165 seats
although the results for several seats were invalidated following allegations of vote-buying.
Following the elections 5 parties
namely - the Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana Party
the Matchimathipataya Party and the Pracharaj Party
the CTP and the PP - agreed to participate in a PPP-led government. On 19 January 2008
the PPP leader
Mr. Sundaravej
officially announced a six-party coalition controlling 315 of the 480 seats
leaving the Democrat Party the sole opposition in the new House of Representatives.
The House of Representatives held its first session on 21 January. On the following day
it elected the PPP deputy leader
Mr. Yongyuth Tiyapairat
as its new Speaker. Following investigations into allegations of electoral fraud
Mr. Tiyapairat resigned as Speaker on 30 April and was replaced on 12 May by Mr. Chai Chidchob (PPP).
On 28 January
the House of Representatives elected the PPP leader
Samak Sundaravej
as the new Prime Minister. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 23 December 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
44'002'593
32'759'009 (74.45%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Constituencies |
PR |
|
|
| People Power Party (PPP) |
233
|
199 |
34 |
|
|
| Democratic Party (DP) |
164
|
131 |
33 |
|
|
| Chartthai Party (CTP) |
34
|
30 |
4 |
|
|
| Puea Pandin Party (PP) |
24
|
17 |
7 |
|
|
| Matchimathipataya Party (MCM) |
11
|
11 |
0 |
|
|
| Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana Party (RC) |
9
|
8 |
1 |
|
|
| Pracharaj Party (PRP) |
5
|
4 |
1 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
424
56
11.67%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
Over 70 years
|
16
63
185
140
59
17
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
| Politicians |
190 |
| Business/trade/industry employees
including executives |
126 |
| Civil/public servants/administrators (including social/development workers) |
50 |
| Legal professions |
24 |
| Unknown |
19 |
| Farmers/agricultural workers (including wine growers) |
15 |
| Others |
14 |
| Salaried employees |
14 |
| Medical professions (doctors
dentists
nurses) |
10 |
| Educators |
7 |
| Self-employed |
6 |
| Consultants (including real estate agents) |
5 |
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- http://www.ect.go.th/english/index.html
- IPU Group (24.01.2008
07.03.2008
01.01.2010) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
