Thai Voters Participate in Snap Election, Landmark Constitutional Vote
Polling stations opened at 8 a.m. local time (0100 GMT), with more than 50 million eligible voters choosing 500 members of the House of Representatives from approximately 5,000 candidates. The election follows the dissolution of the lower house on December 12, a year before the end of its four-year term.
Of the 500 seats, 400 are being decided through constituency races, while the remaining 100 will be distributed to political parties based on nationwide party-list votes. The results will determine the next government and whether caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul can retain his position.
Sunday’s vote is described as a “three-in-one” election, as it is the first time in Thailand that citizens are simultaneously electing lawmakers and participating in a national referendum on whether to revise the 2017 military-era Constitution. Each voter received three ballots: a pink ballot for the party-list vote, a green ballot for constituency candidates, and a yellow ballot for the constitutional referendum.
In the contest for prime minister, 19 parties nominated the maximum of three candidates each, 12 parties put forward two candidates, and another 12 nominated one candidate. The oldest contender is 90 years old.
Bangkok, Thailand’s most populous province, has the largest number of constituencies at 33, followed by Nakhon Ratchasima with 16, and Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani with 11 each.
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