At stake in this election:

• 500 seats in the House of Representatives

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet
• Head of Government: Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat
• Assembly: Thailand has a bicameral Bicameral National Assembly consisting of the Senate with 200 seats and the House of Representatives with 500 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is a hereditary monarch.
• In the Senate 200 members are elected by simple majority vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 6-year terms. In the House of Representatives, 400 members are elected by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms and 100 members are elected by party list to serve 4-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT)
  • Leader: Shinawatra THAKSIN
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 248
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A
• Party: Democratic Party (DP)
  • Leader: Leekpai CHUAN
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 96
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 123
• Party: Chart Thai Party (TNP)
  • Leader: Silpa-Archa BANHARN
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 25
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 39
• Party: Chart Pattana (NDP)
  • Leader: Dhabarangsi KORN
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 2
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 52
• Party: The New Aspiration (NAP)
  • Leader: Yongchaiyudh CHAVALIT
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 125

Last Parliamentary election:

• The last election to the House of Representatives was held on 17 November 1996, when 392 seats were decided.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 61,230,874 (July 2000 est.)
• Registered Voters: 42,875,036 (January 2001)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 32,072,380 (2001)

·         Is Thailand a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Thailand ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (9 August 1985) 

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 42 (House of Representatives) following the 2001 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 93 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Thailand a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Thailand ratified CRPD: Yes (29 July 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 9,184,631 (est.)