General elections are scheduled to be held in Thailand no later than 28 June 2027.[a] They will determine the composition of the House of Representatives.
Background
This will be the third election under the 2017 constitution, which was implemented under the National Council for Peace and Order (the junta that took power in the 2014 Thai coup d'état), and the first after the expiration of the constitution's five-year transitory provision that gave the senate voting rights to choose the prime minister in a joint session of parliament. As such, unlike in 2023 when the junta-appointed senate (whose term also ends after five years) blocked the election's majority winner from forming government, this time the outcome of the election should determine the resulting government.[1]
As in the 2023 election, the electoral system will follow that of the 2021 amendment of the 2017 constitution. The 500 members of the House of Representatives are elected by parallel voting. 400 seats are elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting and 100 seats by proportional representation. Voters cast separate ballots for the two sets of seats.[4]
^While elections in Thailand are customarily held on a Sunday, there is no constitutional requirement to do so; the latest possible date for a general election to be held is the 45th day following the expiration of the House of Representatives four-year term or 45th-60th day in the case of House of Representatives being dissolved.
^Under Thai law, a member of the House of Representatives must be officially affiliated with a political party. However, if for any reason their party membership is rescinded, they can be without a party for up to thirty days. During the thirty days, they must find a new party to affiliate with or their membership of parliament will end.
^ abcdefgAs Move Forward Party, People's Party's de facto predecessor