BANGKOK – Thailand’s started at 8:00 am local time on Sunday , About 50 million eligible voters went to polling stations across the Southeast Asian country to elect a total of 500 members of the House of Representatives.
In this election, all voters will receive three separate ballots. The green one is for the local candidate by constituency, while the pink one is for the party-list.
Voters will also be given a third yellow ballot for a national referendum on whether to proceed with the drafting of a new constitution.
Under Thai law, out of the 500 seats available in Thailand’s House of Representatives, 400 seats will be elected in constituencies across the country, with the remaining 100 allocated to political parties on a proportional basis.
Meanwhile, the outcome of the constitutional referendum will determine whether the parliament will initiate the constitutional amendment process.
Polling stations will close at 5 pm local time, with unofficial results expected later at night.
Final official vote counts are required to be released no later than April 9. The new parliament must convene a session within 15 days to elect a speaker, after which the House of Representatives will vote to select the new prime minister.
Local public opinion generally views this election as a contest among three major political parties: the Bhumjaithai Party, the People’s Party and the Pheu Thai Party. It is considered unlikely that any single party will secure enough seats to form a government on its own. Therefore, the new cabinet will likely be formed through a coalition.
