General elections were held in Thailand on 3 July 2011 to elect the 24th House of Representatives.
The protestors of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) or "Red Shirts" who occupied downtown Bangkok in April and May 2010 had demanded new elections. The government's counter-proposal to hold elections on 14 November 2010 was rejected by them and was followed by a violent crackdown when the protestors refused to disperse. Elections were finally announced in May 2011.
With a turnout of 75%, populist Pheu Thai Party won a majority with 265 seats. Its leader Yingluck Shinawatra became the first female prime minister in the history of Thailand. The Democrat Party therefore became the main opposition party with a total of 159 seats.
The election results were acknowledged on 27 July after the Election Commission dealt with a number of objections regarding alleged irregularities. Reelections and recount were ordered to be held in several provinces, due to electoral fraud discovered by the commission. The first session of the National Assembly was convoked on Monday, 1 August at Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall and its state opening was held at the same time.
Following the victory by Pheu Thai Party, several countries, including Germany and Japan, lifted the ban that had once been imposed upon Thaksin Shinawatra, a convicted felon in Thailand.
Background
After the 2007 Thai general election, the People’s Power Party won a majority of seats in the parliament and became the leading party to set up the new government. Samak Sundaravej, party leader, became the 25th Prime Minister of Thailand. This election victory led to a series of political demonstrations by the royalist Peoples Alliance for Democracy ("Yellow Shirts").
On 2 December 2008 the People’s Power Party had been dissolved by the Constitutional Court over vote buying. The PPP's executive team was banned from politics for 5 years. After the party's dissolution, all of the party's members of parliament had to join another party if they wished to retain their seat. The majority of them transferred to the newly founded Pheu Thai Party. Some representatives defected to the Democrats, which enabled the Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to be elected by parliament as prime minister.
The National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship ("Red Shirts") was a pressure group that opposed the Thai military's alleged influence in the formation of Abhisit's government. It promptly organised several rounds of protests and calls for general elections. Abhisit government finally ordered the military to crack down on the Red Shirts in 2009, resulting in several deaths and hundreds of injuries on both sides.
The Red Shirts launched a new round of protests in mid-2010, again demanding new elections. The 14 March protest, centered around Phan Fah bridge, were the largest in Thai history and were mostly peaceful. In April and May 2010 heavy Red Shirt protests led to violent clashes and the military cracked down on the protest camp in the heart of Bangkok from 13 to 19 May 2010.
Abhisit government's had passed several major amendments on electoral laws on 11 February 2011, transforming the constituency vote from multiple-seats-per-constituency to single-seat-per-constituency, reducing the number of constituency MPs, and increasing the proportional party list MPs. In the previous general elections in 2007, the Democrat Party had lost the constituency vote but won the proportional party list vote.
On 17 February 2011 Prime Minister Abhisit announced that parliament would be dissolved by June. On 11 March 2011, it was further announced that parliament would be dissolved by the first week of May 2011.
Election date Previously a proposal had made to hold the election on 14 November 2010, however, this was pushed back following a failure to come to agreement during the crisis.
On 9 May Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced that he would dissolve the lower house of parliament to hold an election on 3 July. King Bhumibol Adulyadej signed a royal decree on the dissolution the same day. This motion followed a court ruling the same day that the recently approved electoral laws (to 2007 Constitution §§93–98 involving method of electing members of parliament) are constitutional. Had parliament been dissolved without the ruling, there would have been a possibility of challenging the election date.
Contesting parties
This election covered 375 single-member constituencies, and 125 under proportional party lists. After registration closed, party leaders participated in a random drawing of the number determining the order in which their parties appear on ballots, numbers which are also used in nationwide campaigning. Yingluck Shinawatra received a major psychological boost when her Pheu Thai party drew the number one; sitting prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's Democrat Party drew number ten.
Represented number Party's name 1 Pheu Thai Party* 2 Chart Pattana Puea Pandin Party* 3 New Democracy Party 4 Thai Citizen Party 5 Rak Thailand Party 6 Phalang Chon Party 7 Prachatham Party 8 Dumrongthai Party 9 Mass Power Party 10 Democrat Party* 11 Thai Por-Pieng Party 12 Rak Santi Party 13 Thaipensuk Party 14 Social Action Party* 15 Thai Pen Thai Party 16 Bhumjaithai Party* 17 Thaen Khun Phaendin Party 18 For Heaven and Earth Party 19 The Farmer Network of Thailand Party 20 New Politics Party Represented number Parties name 21 Chartthaipattana Party* 22 Liberal Party 23 Chart Samuccee Party 24 Bamrungmueang Party 25 Kasikornthai Party 26 Matubhum Party 27 Better Life Party 28 Palung Sungkom Thai Party 29 Thai Party for Thai People 30 Mahachon Party 31 Prachachon Chow Thai Party 32 Rakpandin Party 33 Civil Peace Party 34 New Aspiration Party* 35 Asamatupoom Party 36 Sport Party of Thailand 37 Parung Chownathai Party 38 Thai Sangsun Party 39 Puen Kaset Thai Party 40 Maharatpattana Party * Sent 125 candidates for all party-list seats
Campaign issues After the drawing, the Election Commission of Thailand distributed handouts nationwide, listing all registered parties by number, name and logo; each party's list of candidates and party platform; modified for each district with campaign portraits of their candidates, again in numerical order. Local campaigners add party numbers to pre-printed campaign posters, or print new ones. In most cases, the numbers are in Red, but in the latter part of the campaign, the Democrat Party (10) changed theirs to Green.
Thaksin and the monarchy The Democrat Party promised that with their rule all Thais would live "under the same sky" with all groups being served fairly, whereas a Pheu Thai victory would result in "mob rule" in which social division and violence would spread and some groups could stand above the law. Abhisit referred to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra as a poison that had to be detoxified.The Nation, Abhisit: It's us or chaos. , 2 July 2011 The Democrats have repeatedly accused Thaksin and the Pheu Thai Party of disloyalty to King Bhumibol.The Nation, , 26 August 2011
Alliances The parties Bhumjaithai and Chartthaipattana formed a pre-campaign electoral alliance pledging to support whichever party won. The parties were members of Abhisit's coalition.
Jailing of opposition leaders Red Shirt leaders Jatuporn Prompan and Nisit Sinthuprai had been jailed for months on charges of violating national security and insulting King Bhumibol following the 2010 crackdown on the Red Shirts. They had been released on bail, but the bail was revoked immediately after Abhisit announced the 2011 elections. They were not allowed to vote in the elections.
Celebrities and political heirs Abhisit unveiled a slate of candidates highlighted by 30 celebrities and heirs of political families, including Chitpas Bhirombhakdi, heiress of the Singha Beer fortune and former staff member of Abhisit's secretariat office.The Nation, Democrat to unveil 30 celebrities as electoral candidates , 11 May 2011 She had earlier resigned after she was caught handing out nude calendars to secretariat office staff.
The Chartthaipattana fielded four sports celebrities as candidates: former national team football player Piyapong Pue-on, tennis player Paradorn Srichaphan, Olympic taekwondo bronze medallist Yaowapa Boorapolchai, and former rugby player Apirak Areemitr.
Minimum wage Abhisit promised to increase the minimum wage by 25% if the Democrat Party won the election.SMH, 'Cloned' sister of former leader polls strongly in Thailand, 14 June 2011
The Pheu Thai Party promised to increase the minimum wage to 300 baht per day. Abhisit had promised to raise the minimum wage to 300 baht prior to the elections, but changed his mind after pressure from employers.
Angry Man Rak Thailand Party of Chuwit Kamolvisit conducted a vigorous "Angry Man" campaign pledging to be in opposition to whichever party won.
NO campaign For Heaven and Earth Party (political arm of the Santi Asoke Buddhist sect) supported the NO campaign of some PAD supporters, which featured proverbial animals in color-coded suits as non-human electoral candidates, most bearing the slogan: Don’t let animals enter parliament (). Also prominent: Flee () (blue-suited tiger) For () (red-suited crocodile). Chamlong Srimuang, a key supporter of the "vote-no" movement, did not vote "no" after all. In fact, he did not vote at all; his and his wife’s names were not on the list of eligible voters as they had voted in advance in the previous election but did not realise that they had to inform election officials that they did not want to do so in this one.
Other Other PAD supporters, however, formed the New Politics Party whose logo is a yellow sauwastika under a Trairanga rainbow.
Opinion polls Results of a Suan Dusit Rajabhat University poll (4–18 June): Pheu Thai 51.55%; Democrat 34.04%; Bhum Jai Thai 3.43%; Rak Prathet Thai 2.48%; Chart Thai Pattana 1.60%; against all 1.41%; undecided 2.38%
23–28 May: Pheu Thai 43.16%; Democrat 37.45%; Bhum Jai Thai 2.64%; Chart Thai Pattana 2.46%; Rak Prathet Thai 1.43%; others 4.42%; undecided 7.08; rest would not vote – Democrats strongest in Southern Region (65.89%), Pheu Thai in Northern (73.17%)
19–22 May: Pheu Thai 41.22%; Democrat 36.88%; Bhum Jai Thai 3.88%; Chart Thai Pattana 3.20%; Rak Prathet Thai 1.59%
Preferred party-list Fieldwork date(s)Polling firmSamplePheu ThaiDemocratNo party UndecidedOthers Lead17-18 May 2011Nida Poll1,27216.9012.7452.0418.2433.8024-25 May 2011Nida Poll1,23417.9912.0748.381.0530.391-2 June 2011Nida Poll1,23016.679.1945.9328.2117.727-8 June 2011Nida Poll1,33818.599.1543.731.1525.14
Preferred party Fieldwork date(s)Polling firmSamplePheu ThaiDemocratNo party UndecidedOthers Lead17-18 May 2011Nida Poll1,27217.7714.2349.7618.2431.5219-22 May 2011Suan Dusit Poll3,58441.2236.886.4915.414.3423-28 May 2011Suan Dusit Poll4,69443.1637.457.0812.315.7124-25 May 2011Nida Poll1,23418.3111.7548.951.2230.641-2 June 2011Nida Poll1,23016.679.1945.9328.2117.727-8 June 2011Nida Poll1,33818.019.5143.8828.6015.2813 June 2011Nida Poll1,24729.5117.4028.0725.021.444-18 June 2011Suan Dusit Poll102,94451.5534.052.3812.0217.50
Conduct Violence Pracha Prasopdee, ex-MP for Samut Prakan Province who had won all five of the previous elections, was shot in the back on the night of 10 May. Pracha had been a member of the Thai Rak Thai, Peoples Power, and Pheu Thai parties.
Overseas and early voting