Thailand dissolves parliament ahead of May election

The announcement was published in the Royal Gazette on March 20, paving the way for a general election scheduled to be held in May this year.

The royal decree was issued on March 17 and took effect on March 20.

The Thai constitution stipulates that elections must be held within 45-60 days after the dissolution of Parliament . This means that the general election will take place between May 4 and 19.

The official election date will be announced by the Election Commission of Thailand and published in the Royal Gazette.

Last week, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha requested a royal decree to dissolve Parliament before the end of the government's four-year term on March 23.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Photo: AP

Thailand held its previous election on March 24, 2019, marking a transition from nearly five years of military rule to the re-establishment of a democratically elected government.

Thailand's current constitution empowers the Senate to jointly select the prime minister with the House of Representatives, meaning a future prime minister must be approved by more than half of the 750-member assembly.

Therefore, a political party needs to gather at least 376 votes in a joint sitting – from both houses or from the 500 members of the House of Commons – for its candidate to win the prime ministership and form a government.

A

Pham Nghia

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su-quoc-te/thai-lan-giai-the-quoc-hoi-truoc-tong-tuyen-cu-thang-5-20230320194232695.htm