election
- Thailand Election News
Second batch of official election results due today
Five weeks after the country’s general election, the Election Commission has endorsed 349 successful constituency candidates for the House of Representatives, of the 350 seats contested. One constituency in Chiang Mai province had its winning candidate disqualified – a bi-election will be held at the end of the month. Today, the EC will reveal the 150 successful party-list MP candidates who…
- Thailand Election News
Election Commission officially endorses 349 constituency seat winners
Five weeks after the country’s first general election since the 2014 military coup, the Election Commission has now officially endorsed 349 successful constituency candidates for the Lower House of Parliament, minus one. The EC’s deputy secretary-general, Sawang Boonmee says the vacant spot is for a Chiang Mai province constituency that will have a by-election later in May after the March…
- Thailand Election News
Announcement of election results this Tuesday and Wednesday
The Election Commission is, as promised, poised to announce the final election results next Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday’s initial round of results are sure to spark off a new round of political dramas – no matter who is considered the ‘winner’ from the results. The announcements come at a time when tensions are running high over lawsuits and the uncertainty over…
- Thailand Election News
Future Forward’s Thanathorn says he’s confident he will be endorsed as an MP
Thanathorn had prepared some 27 items of evidence to prove to the poll authority that he had divested his media shares on January 8, well before he registered to run in the election that took place a month later. A defiant Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit emerged from yesterday’s marathon ‘chat’ with the Election Commission over charges he still owned…
- Thailand Election News
Thanathorn says he’s confident he won’t be penalised by the EC
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the leader of Future Forward Party, says he’s confident he won’t be penalised by the Election Commission over allegations he breached the Constitution and the election by holding shares in a media company, V Luck Media, when registering for the March 24 election. Thanathorn says he will submit his defence with the commission by next Monday and insists on…
- Thailand Election News
Thanathorn faces more charges from EC over media shares
Future Forward’s Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, the 40 year old leader of the new party, has cut short his trip to Europe over an ‘unexpected incident’ The Thai Election Commission yesterday unanimously resolved to press charges against Thanathorn over an alleged violation of Thai media shareholding rules. Citing investigations by two EC panels, Sawang Boonmee, the EC deputy secretary-general, told a press…
- Thailand Election News
New Economics Party clarifies their support for pro-democracy coalition
PHOTO: Mingkwan Sangsuwan, New Economics Party leader – The Nation Leader of the New Economics Party Mingkwan Sangsuwan hasy reiterated his party’s intention to join with the pro-democracy coalition (Pheu Thai, Future Forward) and against the pro-junta party, Phalang Pracharat. Amid uncertainty over which camp New Economics would work with after the election, Mingkwan has clarified he would not join…
- Thailand Election News
Pro-democracy coalition remains positive following weekend glitch
by Kai Chanwanpen The see-saw continues as the anti and pro-junta groups continue to tussle to form a coalition government. Meanwhile the Election Commission (EC) is no closer to announcing the allocation of Lower House seats… three weeks after the vote! They maintain that May 9 is the day they will announce the results although this deadline has been muddied…
- Thailand Election News
Former EC Commissioner says ‘Give seats to smaller parties’
A former Constitution Drafting Commission member, Praphan Naikovit, once a member of the Election Commission, met with election commissioners yesterday to discuss the formula that should be used to determine the number of MPs following an extensive debate on the interpretation of laws and formula. He says there is just one formula to calculate the number of party-list MPs in…
- Thailand Election News
Army chief steps into the political fray again
PHOTO: Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong against a snappy hot pink backdrop by Supalak Ganjanakhundee Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong’s provocative comments against foreign-educated politicians with ‘leftist leanings’ and activists is a threat to democracy, and could lead to social unrest, violence and even collapse of the regime… warnings from prominent Thai scholars and rights defenders yesterday. The comments follow…
- Thailand Election News
Election Commission admits they haven’t decided on the formula to determine lower house
by Kas Chanwanpen In a stunning admission yesterday, the Election Commission admitted they didn’t know the exact formula to work out the final make up of the lower house seats. The Election Commission secretary-general Jarungvith Phumma says that he expected the agency to make a decision this week on their interpretation of the new Charter that sets out, broadly, how…
- Thailand Election News
The EC’s magic formulae. Thais want to know how it all works.
by Kas Chanwanpen More confusion today, nine days after after the national ballot, as multiple formulae have been cited to come up with a tally on the number of MPs each party would have. Meanwhile, authorities appear reluctant to clear the air. Political scientist Stithorn Thananithichot warns that this confusion could lead to lawsuits which will further complicate post-poll politics.…
- Thailand Election News
“No need to join coalition government” – Democrat politician
PHOTO: Facebook/Parit Wacharasindhu With around 55 seats won after Sunday’s election, the Democrats are one of a few political parties which will hold the balance of power. They will be able to choose between joining an alliance with a Pheu Thai-led bloc or siding with the Phalang Pracharat-led camp. But Parit Wacharasindhu, a new generation Democrat Party member, says he…
- Thailand Election News
Democrat’s 50 parliamentary seats up for grabs
The Democrat Party is hedging their bets at the moment with differing views among the remnant of the political party as to where they should throw their support in the new parliament. Yesterday they were juggling their options, as both Pheu Thai and Phalang Pracharat claimed legitimacy to form the next government. Senior Democrat politician Thaworn Senneam, who won the…
- Thailand Election News
Nine arrested for sharing ‘fake election news’
PHOTO: Thai News Agency A Thai official has announced that nine people have been arrested for allegedly sharing fake news on Facebook. In the posts they claimed two EC commissioners had been fired and that 600,000 illegitimate ballots were mixed into the vote count. If convicted, the accused could face up to five years in jail and a 30,000 baht…
- Thailand Election News
Count continues amid surging complaints
Four days after the national election and we are still no closer to knowing the ‘winner’ as the county’s Election Commission continues the counting of the remainder of the votes amid accusations of delays and mishandling of ballots in some locations. 95% of the voting has now been completed. The EC says that the results after counting the remaining 5%…
- Thailand Election News
Anti-Junta bloc announces coalition with at least 255 seats
by Kas Chanwanpen The Pheu Thai Party’s de facto leader Sudarat Keyuraphan has announced this morning that an ‘anti-junta’ bloc had mustered at least 255 MPs from seven parties to form a coalition government. She said their shared aim was to stop the military junta from retaining power. She also said that negotiations are still underway for more parties to…
- Thailand Election News
Six parties poised to announce coalition government at 10am
Six pro-democracy parties, led by Pheu Thai, are announcing their intention to form a coalition government this morning. The number-crunchers say, even without the support of BumJaiThai and the Democrats, they have 252 house seats to form a majority government (they need at least 251 seats in the 500 seat parliament). The parties siding with Pheu Thai to form the…
- Thailand Election News
EC urged to clear public doubt, announce results immediately
by Pratch Rujivanarom Facing a major public outcry over suspicious election processes and problematic vote counting, the Election Commission has been warned by both international and local election observers to promptly resolve all public doubts and prevent the escalation of political problems and conflicts. During the release of an interim report by Asian Network for Free Election (ANFREL) in Bangkok…
- Thailand Election News
Parties race to cobble together a working coalition
Day Two following the election and the only thing that is clear is that nothing is clear at this stage. Pheu Thai and Phalang Pracharat are both claiming the right to form a government with support of like-minded parties. The two rival parties, the pro-democracy Pheu Thai and the pro-Junta Phalang Pracharat, are locked in a close battle to form…
- Thailand Election News
Police checking 50, mostly, minor violations post election day
Police around Thailand are prosecuting 50 alleged violations of election laws and continue to monitor the post-poll situation for further signs of potential trouble. The Royal Thai Police say they’re on alert for ‘ill-intentioned groups’ fomenting post-election chaos, national police deputy spokesman Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen said this morning. The 50 cases under investigation include buying votes, deliberate destruction of ballots…
- Thailand Election News
UPDATE: Latest poll results, Monday 11am
RESULTS: Election Commission Updated poll results as of 11am this morning. The latest votes reveal some changes in the total seats each party has now won. There are also some changes to the wins of the small parties. Pheu Thai continues to pull ahead, Future Forward continues its very impressive showing as a brand new party and the Democrats, with their…
- Thailand Election News
Thai poll results, for newbies
PHOTO: France 24 The numbers are still being counted but the trends are now quite defined so that any changes are unlikely to affect the final result. According to popular vote figures from the Election Commission, with 93% of the total votes counted, Palang Pracharat garnered the most votes with 7.5 million, with Pheu Thai following at 7.3 million. But…
- Thailand Election News
UPDATE: Election results – what it all means
The Election Commission says the official results of the Thai general election will be announced today. By the close of counting last night around 92% of the votes had been counted. The bleary-eyed commission decided to delay the announcement until this afternoon. The EC chairman says the announcement of winners in each constituency had to be deferred because expat’ votes…
- Thailand Election News
Counting continues today. Phalang Pracharat and Pheu Thai lead the way.
Pheu Thai and Phalang Pracharat were running neck-and-neck last night as ballots were counted around the country. The major parties swapped poll position as the night went on. As of 10.30pm, with 92 per cent of the votes counted, the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat appeared to have beaten Pheu Thai with a total of 147 seats – 92 constituency MPs and…
- Thailand Election News
Exit poll says Pheu Thai will get most votes but not a majority
The polls are closed, the ballot boxes secured and the counting starts. Time now for the fancy TV graphics and speculation as Thailand’s next government takes shape in the next 24-48 hours. No party is expected to win a majority of the seats so a coalition will need to be formed. That’s where the fun will start. Pheu Thai is…
- Thailand Election News
Ban on alcohol for 24 hours, starts today at 6pm
Thais go to the polls tomorrow (Sunday) for the first time since 2011, which also means there will be a 24 hour alcohol ban this weekend, starting this evening. Alcohol sales and distribution will be forbidden from 6pm on Saturday to 6pm on Sunday. Officials say weddings, parties and other celebrations can still be organised for these dates but there…
- Thailand Election News
Everything you need to know about tomorrow’s vote
by Kanjana Lao, Nation Graphics Seven million new eligible voters will impact the outcome of tomorrow’s election, the first since 2011. The many new young voters, and the new election system, means that an outcome is very difficult to predict. But here’s Thai Election 2019 1.01 for newbies, thanks to The Nation.
- Thailand Election News
Voters like Prayut as PM but prefer Pheu Thai as the party they will vote for
With the election campaign now digging into its first week on the hustings, the polls are starting to indicate where the early poll sentiments are leaning. Thai PM Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha is the favourite for the prime minster’s position following the election, but Pheu Thai is the party people want to see lead the formation of the new government, according…
- Thailand Election News
Constitutional Court meets today to rule on future of Thai Raksa Chart
PHOTO: Thai Raksa Chart party leader Preechaphol Pongpanit awaits the decision of the Constitutional Court today whether to proceed with the case to disband the party The Constitutional Court is meeting today to decide whether or not to consider the request of the Election Commission to have the Thai Raksa Chart Party dissolved for breaching the political parties act. The…
