Thai general election, 2011
The parliamentary elections in Thailand 2011 took place on July 3. The absolute majority won the oppositional Pheu Thai Party led by Yingluck Shinawatra, while the former ruling party, the Democratic Party, came to only 30 percent of the vote. The election was required after the House of Representatives was dissolved by Royal Decree, BE 2554 (2011) on May 10, 2011.
Originally, the election on 14 November 2010 was planned. However, it was postponed several times.
The previous parliamentary election took place on 23 December 2007.
Candidates and parties
As top candidate generally favored Pheu Thai Party ( PTP) Yingluck Shinawatra entered, the sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on. The PTP is the successor party to the 2008 due to election fraud banned by the Constitutional Court Phak Palang Prachachon (PPP). This in turn is the successor party of the banned after the military coup in 2006 the former ruling party, Thai Rak Thai (TRT ).
Abhisit Vejjajiva, the then Prime Minister, stood as the leading candidate for the Democratic Party.
In addition, the Bhumjaithai and Chartthaipattana Party took (CP ), the Chart Pattana Party, some of Phak Matubhum, the Social Action Party, and numerous smaller parties in the election.
Background
Slightly more than a year before the elections were held in Bangkok demonstrations whose aim was the immediate resignation of the government led by Abhisit Vejjajiva. This evolved into the violent riots in Bangkok in 2010, which were eventually defeated by the Thai armed forces. The organized as the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship protesters stand near PTP.
Electioneering
Before the election, questions came to the position of the military to make it a likely election victory of PTP. Army chief Prayuth Chan - ocha said in a televised speech in June 2011 that he considered the PTP as a threat to public order and criticized an " anti-monarchist undercurrent " in the election campaign.
The PTP campaigned with the slogan " Thaksin thinks, Pheu Thai acts. ". Yingluck Shinawatra promised Moreover fare discounts and credit for farmers.
Abhisit Vejjajiva campaigned during the election campaign with income guarantees for agriculture, loan breaks for home buyers and better salaries in the public service.
Results
On July 4, the Election Commission of Thailand announced that the PTP received 265 of the 500 seats. The Democratic Party won 159 seats. The turnout was 75.03 percent.
The Electoral Commission received 1,900 complaints of irregularities.
On July 11, the Election Commission confirmed 358 mandates. 142 seats in parliament, the PTP and Democratic Party concerning, were not initially accepted. The next day, the Commission initiated an investigation into the campaign of the PTP. Specifically, the involvement of Thaksin Shinawatra and other excluded from the political establishment is suspected persons in the election campaign of the PTP. On July 19, the Election Commission rejected all complaints and upheld the original result.
On August 2, Somsak Kiatsuranont was elected as the new President of the House of Representatives.