Thailand

Flag Description

Five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red.

Election type: Parliamentary

Election date: 6 February, 2005

Number of registered voters: 42 759 001 (as at January 2001)

Compulsory voting: No

Government

Type: Constitutional Monarchy

Chief of State: King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet (since 9 June 1946)

Party in Government: Thai Rak Thai Party (Thais Love Thais Party)

Prime Minister: THAKSIN Shinawatra (since 9 February 2001)

Branches: Executive-King (chief of state) and Prime Minister (head of government)

Legislative—the bicameral National Assembly or Rathasapha consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate or Wuthisapha has 200 seats and members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms. The House of Representatives or Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon has 500 seats and its members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms.

Judicial—composed of the Constitutional Court, the Courts of Justice, and the Administrative Courts Elections: Senate—last held 4 March, 29 April, 4 June, 9 July, and 22 July 2000 (next to be held by March 2006). House of Representatives—last held 6 January 2001.

Political parties: Multi-party system. The Communist Party is prohibited.

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at 18

The Thai newspaper, The Nation has a web site called General Election 2005 which discusses electoral fraud, voter preference for the Thai Rak Thai Party, other parties contesting the election, disqualification of candidates, analysis of the Thaksin phenomenon and faction fighting and an election map showing constituencies with full statistical data.

A CNN article dated 6 February 2005  says that Thaksin Shinawatra has drawn his support from rural voters and a strong economy and rejects claims that his huge win would turn him into a dictator. The article goes on to discuss issues of concern to Thailand such as the bird flu, ongoing violence particularly in the south, the war on drugs, the recent tsunami disaster, human rights violations and abuses of power.

For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to members of Parliament.

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Last reviewed 22 September, 2005 by the Parliamentary Library Web Manager
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