THAILAND: Parliamentary Elections
Thailand will be holding parliamentary elections on July 3rd.
At stake in this election:
500 seats in the House of Representatives (Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon)
Description of government structure:
Chief of State: King BHUMIBOL Adulyadej
Head of Government: Prime Minister ABHISIT Vejjajiva
Assembly: Thailand has a bicameral National Assembly (Rathasapha) consisting of the Senate (Wuthisapha) with 150 seats and the House of Representatives (Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon) with 500 seats.
Description of electoral system:
The King is the hereditary head of state.
The Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch to serve a 4-year term.
In the Senate (Wuthisapha), 74 members are appointed and 76 members are elected by single non-transferable vote (SNTV). In the House of Representatives (Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon), 375 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms and 125 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.
Veera Preteepchaikul: is Thailand ready for a woman PM?
The notion that Thailand may have its first woman prime minister after the July 3 election has not been warmly greeted by many among us. Initial reactions have ranged from scepticism and criticism to contempt and outright rejection. Which is not unusual for something quite unprecedented and unfamiliar _ at least for this country, although not for many other countries in this world.
There are many smart women in the private and government sectors and in non-governmental organisations. We have had women as ministers, top executives, diplomats, famous writers, doctors, etc, but never a female prime minister since the country turned from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy in 1932.
But that does not mean Thailand cannot have a female as the top government leader.
To read the full article, please visit Bangkok Post.
Veera Preteepchaikul: is Thailand ready for a woman PM?
The notion that Thailand may have its first woman prime minister after the July 3 election has not been warmly greeted by many among us. Initial reactions have ranged from scepticism and criticism to contempt and outright rejection. Which is not unusual for something quite unprecedented and unfamiliar _ at least for this country, although not for many other countries in this world.
There are many smart women in the private and government sectors and in non-governmental organisations. We have had women as ministers, top executives, diplomats, famous writers, doctors, etc, but never a female prime minister since the country turned from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy in 1932.
But that does not mean Thailand cannot have a female as the top government leader.
To read the full article, please visit Bangkok Post.