2007 Thai general election

2007 Thai general election
Thailand
← 2006 23 December 2007 2011 →

All 480 seats in the House of Representatives
241 seats needed for a majority
Turnout85.38%
Party Leader Vote % Seats
Democrat Abhisit Vejjajiva 38.65 165
People's Power Samak Sundaravej 38.61 233
Puea Pandin Suwit Khunkitti 5.44 24
Chart Thai Banharn Silpa-archa 4.24 37
Ruam Jai Thai Chart Pattana Chettha Thanajaro 2.60 9
Pracharaj Sanoh Thienthong 2.06 5
Neutral Democratic Anongwan Thepsuthin 1.45 7
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
A map presenting the results of the election.
Prime Minister before Prime Minister after
Surayud Chulanont
Independent (CNS)
Samak Sundaravej
People's Power

General elections were held in Thailand on 23 December 2007. They were the first elections after the Council for National Security, a military junta, had overthrown Thailand's elected government and abrogated the constitution on 19 September 2006.[1] The junta had canceled general elections scheduled for October 2006 and promised new elections within 12 months. The Constitutional Tribunal then outlawed the Thai Rak Thai party, the largest political party in Thailand, and banned TRT executives from contesting in the elections for five years. After their political party had been dissolved, the former TRT members regrouped under the band of People's Power Party (PPP) led by Samak Sundaravej, a seasoned politician. Following its formation, the junta issued a classified order to suppress the activities of the PPP and to frame it for lèse majesté. The order was leaked to the public, leading to a complaint towards the Election Commission from the PPP. However, the Election Commission dismissed the complaint on the grounds that the Council for National Security (CNS) had granted itself immunity in the 2007 Constitution of Thailand.[2]

The junta deployed 200,000 soldiers and police officers to maintain security and 1,500 officers to supervise after election fraud. Charnchai Silapauaychai, a popular former Democrat Party member from Phrae who switched to the PPP for the 2008 election, was assassinated. Five men, one of them cousin of a powerful Democrat Party MP were arrested, but all denied involvement.[3]

Despite being the junta's target for suppression, the PPP won 233 out of 480 parliamentary seats, close to controlling the majority in the House of Representatives. The Democrat Party came in a distant second with 165 seats, followed by Chart Thai with 37, For the Motherland with 24, Ruam Jai Thai Chat Pattana with 9, the Neutral Democratic Party with 7, and Pracharaj with 5.

  1. ^ "Thai coup leader: No vote for another year". NBC News. Bangkok. 20 September 2006.
  2. ^ "Poll agency clears CNS for role in issuing classified order". Bangkok Post. 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
  3. ^ IHT, Thailand to deploy 200,000 police and soldiers for post-coup elections Archived 2008-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, 17 December 2007