Problems of the Mixed–Member Electoral System of the House of Representatives under the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E. 2560 (2017)
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Abstract
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand B.E. 2560 (2017; The Constitution) provides that members of the Thai House of Representatives are elected by a single ballot mixed-member apportionment system. After the Organic Act on Election of Members of the House of Representatives B.E. 2561 (2018) was promulgated and the first election was held on 24 March 2019, we found multiple factual and legal problems. Especially the method of house of representative recruitment, voting, election calculating, and candidate eligibility. The results suggest that the mixed-member system need to be developed, Germany’s MMP system might be adopted with two ballots for each member election, with one vote for preferred candidates while the second is for a party, another option would be to use a majority system for constituency candidate counting and proportional representative system for party-list candidate counting with compensations in case of overhang seats. To receive party-list seats, a party must have the votes above the average votes per House of Representatives member. A further solution might be to amend candidate qualifications as voters by setting a higher threshold, including Thai nationality, age of at least 25 years old on Election Day, and no political party membership. These reforms would lead to a fair mixed-member system for the House of Representatives, genuine popular representation, and government stability as solutions for Thai political system problems corresponding to “The Significant Principles of House of Representatives Elections”.
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References
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