NationThailand-Apr 3
Election season has officially started in Thailand. In Bangkok, candidate registration is taking place at the Thai-Japan Youth Center in Din Daeng from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. The registration of candidates for Bangkok’s 33 constituencies with the general election being held on the 14 of May, giving registered MPs only 40 days to win their votes. Party leaders, including the respective prime minister candidates and party executives, have come along to encourage their candidates while they were registering and drawing their numbers for campaigning before election day on May 14, 2023. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, head of the Pheu Thai Party said, “It’s a bit difficult. We need to encourage fellow citizens to cooperate more and study the ballots. They should have made it easier. Everyone should have the right to vote without worrying and be able to choose a party they like and feel comfortable making the choice.” Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who took control of the government in a coup back in 2014, and continued as prime minister after the 2019 election, is encountering a tough challenge from a revitalized opposition led by Paethongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. According to the national population data used by the EC for calculating the number of constituency MPs in all 400 constituencies, there are 66,090,475 Thai citizens. Upon verifying the data of Thai citizens whose names are on the household registration for the first time in December 2015, the Ministry of Interior found 52,322,824 eligible voters aged 18 years and older. Candidate registrations will be open for five days. Read more at:
