Thai election agency finalises boundaries for all 400 constituencies
The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday announced the boundaries of all 400 constituencies for the next general election tentatively scheduled for May 7.
In a press release, the agency said its commissioners on Thursday endorsed the draft proposed by the EC office designating adjacent districts and sub-districts for the 400 constituencies in 77 provinces across the country.
The announcement, signed by EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong, was expected to be published in the Royal Gazette later on Thursday.
One MP from each constituency will be elected, and the 400 constituency MPs will join another 100 from the party-list system to fill 500 seats in the House of Representatives. At the next election, voters will each get two ballots to elect their preferred constituency MP and the political party.
Bangkok, with the largest population in the country, will have the most constituencies at 33, followed by Nakhon Ratchasima in the Northeast, with 16 constituencies.
Khon Kaen and Ubon Ratchathani, both also in the Northeast, have 11 constituencies and MPs each.
Five provinces will have 10 constituencies/MPs – Nakhon Si Thammarat, Chonburi, Chiang Mao, Udon Thani, and Buri Ram.
Si Sa Ket and Songkhla will have nine constituencies/MPs, followed by Nonthaburi, Roi Et, Samut Prakan and Surin with eight constituencies/MPs each.
Chiang Rai, Chaiyaphum, Pathum Thani, Sakon Nakhon, and Surat Thani provinces will have seven constituencies/MPs, while Kalasin, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Sawan, Phetchabun, and Maha Sarakham will have six constituencies/MPs.
There are nine provinces with five constituencies/MPs, eight with four constituencies/MPs, 21 with three constituencies/MPs, 10 with two constituencies/MPs, and four with one each.
Meanwhile, Prof Narumon Pinyosinwat, treasurer of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party, said on Thursday that the EC’s rejigging of constituency boundaries in Bangkok could have some impact on her party’s performance in the next election.
She added, however, that Palang Pracharath had a contingency plan for the changes as the party aimed to win more than 12 MP seats it gained from the capital city in the 2019 national vote.
“We may get more or fewer MP seats in some [Bangkok] constituencies,” she said, adding that the EC had informally told the party about the imminent changes.
