Thailand officially begins its general election.
From 8:00 AM on March 24th (local time), more than 50 million Thai voters began casting their ballots to elect the country's new leader. This is also the first election under the new 2017 Constitution and will mark a transitional step towards re-establishing a democratically elected government. 92,320 polling stations across Thailand have been opened.
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| Thai voters cast their ballots in the general election at a polling station in Bangkok on March 24, 2019. Photo: AFP/VNA |
Furthermore, this will also be the first election since the death of the influential King Bhumibol Adulyadej, or Rama IX, on October 13, 2016, and the government formed after the election will be approved by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who will also officially ascend the throne next May.
In total, 81 political parties are participating in the election, and thousands of candidates will compete to represent 350 constituencies. Additionally, 150 other members of the House of Representatives will be elected from party lists under a system known as proportional representation.
According to the new election law, this general election will adopt a "mixed electoral system".
Besides electing representatives by constituency, all valid ballots cast by voters are divided equally among 500 seats to determine the average number of voters per seat. Based on this, the total number of votes cast for each party nationwide is added up and divided by this ratio to determine the number of seats that party could potentially win. From there, representatives are selected from the party's pre-registered party list.
Unlike previous elections, where the leader of the winning party or coalition automatically became Prime Minister, this time the Prime Minister is elected by a joint vote of 750 Senators and Representatives in a meeting when the new parliament convenes.
Notably, the military will still wield considerable influence over any government that comes to power after the elections. The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has the power to select and appoint 250 senators whose votes can determine who the future prime minister will be.
The leading candidates include Sudarat Keyuraphan of the Pheu Thai Party, young billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit of the Future New Party, and former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejaj of the Democrat Party. Notably, the current Prime Minister, General Prayut Chan-ocha, who led the coup that overthrew the civilian government in 2014, is also running for the premiership. Prayut Chan-ocha is the candidate of the Palang Pacharat Party, a newly formed party with many former generals and military officers as supporters. In the previous election in 2011, Yingluck Shinawatra led the Pheu Thai Party to a majority of votes. She became Prime Minister of Thailand before being overthrown.
Polling stations will close at 5 PM, and preliminary election results are expected to be announced at 8 PM on the same day.
