ELECTIONS HELD IN 1995
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| Chamber: | |
| Saphaphuthan Ratsadon | |
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| 2 July 1995 | |
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| Elections were held for all seats in the House of Representatives following the premature dissolution of this body on 19 May 1995. General elections had previously been held in September 1992. | |
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| General elections were not normally due until four years later. On 19 May 1995, the ruling four-party coalition Government headed by Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai (Democrat Party) collapsed when the Palang Dharma ("Righteous Force") party withdrew from the alliance shortly before a scheduled parliamentary vote of no-confidence due to a scandal related to a government land-reform programme. The Prime Minister thereupon dissolved the House of Representatives, called for the premature elections and remained as the head of a caretaker government.
Altogether 2285 candidates and 12 parties contested the enlarged House's 391 seats (up from 360). With few issues separating the major groups, personalities overshadowed policy debate during the costly and generally peaceful campaign, which was marked by allegations of corruption and vote-buying. On polling day, voters included 18-year-old citizens for the first time. According to final results, no single party won an overall majority and the military-backed Chart Thai (Thai Nation) main opposition group wrested control from the Democrats, obtaining 92 seats to the latter's 86. This outcome prompted accusations of bribery on the part of the victors, particularly in rural areas. Headed by Mr. Chamlong Srimuang, Palang Dharma, for its part, incurred heavy losses. On this basis, Chart Thai leader Banharn Silpa-Archa announced the establishment of a seven-party coalition Government (which together held 233 House seats) and he was appointed Prime Minister by King Bhumibol on 13 July, thus ending Mr. Chuan's record stint in this post after having been elected as a parliamentarian. The new coalition promised political reform and further development in the economic sector, which was already growing by 8% per year. On 18 July, Mr. Banharn's Cabinet was appointed. |
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STATISTICS
| Round no 1 (2 July 1995): Elections results | |
| Number of registered electors | 37,817,983 |
| Voters | 23,462,746 (62.04%) |
| Round no 1: Distribution of votes | |||
| Political Group | Candidates | ||
| Chart Thai* | 271 | ||
| Democrat Party (DP) | 324 | ||
| New Aspiration Party (NAP)* | 218 | ||
| Chart Patthana | 215 | ||
| Palang Dharma* | 235 | ||
| Social Action Party* | 117 | ||
| Prachakorn Thai* | 158 | ||
| Nam Thai* | 199 | ||
| Seritham | 115 | ||
| Ekkaparb | 136 | ||
| Muan Chon* | 175 | ||
| Round no 1: Distribution of seats | |||
| Political Group | Total | Gain/Loss | |
| Chart Thai* | 92 | +15 | |
| Democrat Party (DP) | 86 | +7 | |
| New Aspiration Party (NAP)* | 57 | +6 | |
| Chart Patthana | 53 | -7 | |
| Palang Dharma* | 23 | -24 | |
| Social Action Party* | 22 | = | |
| Prachakorn Thai* | 18 | +15 | |
| Nam Thai* | 18 | +18 | |
| Seritham | 11 | +3 | |
| Ekkaparb | 8 | = | |
| Muan Chon* | 3 | -1 | |
| Comments: | |
| *members of the governing coalition 31 seats added since last elections |
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| Distribution of seats according to sex: | |
| Men: | 367 |
| Women: | 24 |
| Distribution of seats according to age: | ||
| 25-29 years | 5 | |
| 30-39 years | 79 | |
| 40-49 years | 135 | |
| 50-59 years | 114 | |
| 60-69 years | 52 | |
| 70 years and over | 6 | |
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| Politicians | 208 | |
| Commercial/Business | 115 | |
| Lawyers | 19 | |
| Former government service | 12 | |
| Farmers | 12 | |
| Employees | 9 | |
| Others | 16 | |
Copyright © 1995 Inter-Parliamentary Union