A century of political parties in Thailand

SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 2023

This year’s general election marks the latest chapter in the history of Thai political parties that started 10 decades ago with the founding of Khana Ratsadon (People’s Party)

Formed in 1927, Khana Ratsadon’s bloodless coup in 1932 changed the country from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy 

The party went on to dominate Thai politics until disbanding in 1947, just after the end of World War II

The Democrat Party was formed in 1946 and survives today as the country’s oldest functioning political party 

The Communist Party of Thailand, once a rival of the Democrats, was founded four years earlier in 1942 but was never officially registered and has been inactive since the 1990s

During the course of almost 100 years, Thailand has produced hundreds of political parties

The number of parties formed each year from 1927 to 2022:
1927 – 1
1942 – 1
1946 – 1
1947 – 1
1955 – 8
1956 – 8
1957 – 8
1958 – 1
1968 – 6
1969 – 5
1971 – 2
1974 – 38
1975 – 3
1976 – 8
1979 – 6
1982 – 6
1983 – 4
1984 – 1
1982 – 1
1988 – 3
1989 – 1
1990 – 2
1991 – 2
1992 – 8
1993 – 1
1994 – 4
1995 – 5
1996 – 3
1998 – 13
1999 – 2
2000 – 1
2001 – 1
2003 – 1
2004 – 2
2005 – 1
2006 – 16
2007 – 13
2008 – 13
2009 – 20
2010 – 15
2011 – 15
2012 – 12
2013 – 20
2014 – 10
2016 – 1
2018 – 40
2019 – 8
2020 – 7
2021 – 6
2022 – 10

 

 

There were 88 active political parties as of December 2022

Thai Wikipedia lists the Communist Party of Thailand as still active, though this is disputed

Thirty-seven of the registered parties use the term “Thai” in their names

A century of political parties in Thailand