Senate elections were held in Thailand on 2 March 2008, the first under a new constitution. Voter turnout was 56%.[1] Results were expected on 9 March 2008.[2]
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76 of the 150 seats in the Senate | |||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. | |||||||||
76 candidates were elected, one for each province, while 74 senators will be nominated by a selection panel headed by the Constitution Tribunal's president Virat Limvichai. Nominations for these seats were made by professional groups between 13 January and 18 January 2008, whereafter a panel appointed by the Electoral Commission vetted the nominees' credentials before forwarding the nominations to the selection panel.[3] The Thai Election Commission endorsed the 74 senators selected from the nominations.[4] The senators will serve six-year terms.
The nominated senators are considered to be closer to the outgoing military administration,[5] while among the elected senators a substantial number are closely connected to deposed former PM Thaksin. A prominent critic of Thaksin and anti-corruption activist also appeared to have been elected.[6]
Results
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
| Independents | 76 | |||
| Nominated members | 74 | |||
| Total | 150 | |||
| Valid votes | 24,066,758 | 96.34 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 914,475 | 3.66 | ||
| Total votes | 24,981,233 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 44,911,254 | 55.62 | ||
| Source: IPU | ||||
Aftermath
editOn 13 March 2008, the Senate President was elected. The former Appeals Court president Prasopsuk Boondej, a nominated senator, received 78 votes. Thaweesak Khidbanchong, considered to be close to former minister Newin Chidchob, received 45 votes; General Lertrat Ratanawanit, reportedly closely connected to the defunct coup-making Council for National Security received 15 votes, and Police Lieutenant-General Manoj Kraiwong, who had been criticised for having leaned onto the opposition Democrat Party, received six votes.[7]
References
edit- ^ Low turnout in Thai Senate vote BBC News, 3 March 2008
- ^ Bangkok Post Breaking News
- ^ Thailand's Election Commission to organize senatorial election and selection early 2008 People's Daily 28 December 2007
- ^ Thai Election Commission endorses appointed senators People's Daily, 19 February 2008
- ^ BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Low turnout in Thai Senate vote
- ^ AFP: Thaksin allies make strong showing in Thai Senate race
- ^ MCOT English News : Prasopsuk elected Speaker of Thai Senate Archived 2008-03-16 at the Wayback Machine
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