SHARECountry Data
Thailand (Kingdom of Thailand) has a Bicameral parliament with the use of voluntary party quotas. 74 of 445 (17%) seats in the Saphaphuthan Ratsadon / House of Representatives are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Bicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? No
- For the Upper House?
- For the Sub-National Level? No
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? Yes
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Jun 1, 2023
Single/Lower House
Saphaphuthan Ratsadon / House of Representatives
| Total seats | 445 |
| Total Women | 74 |
| % Women | 17% |
| Election Year | 2019 |
| Electoral System | Parallel |
| Quota Type | No legislated |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
Upper House
Wuthisapha / Senate
| Total seats | 249 |
| Total Women | 26 |
| % Women | 10% |
| Election Year | 2019 |
| Electoral System | |
| Quota Type | > |
| Election details | IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: | Electoral law | |
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | No¤ | |
| Rank order/placement rules | No data available |
Voluntary Political Party Quotas*
| Party | Official name | Details, Quota provisions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democrat Party | Pak Prachatipat [DP] | The Democrat Party has a target of 30 percent women candidates for election |
* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. When a country has legislated quotas in place, only political parties that have voluntary quotas that exceed the percentage/number of the national quota legislation are presented in this table.
Additional Information
Thailand adopted a new constitution in 2017, which including a paragraph on the requirements for political parties candidate lists to include women on equal terms as men (IPU 2019).
In the preparation of a list of candidates under paragraph two, the members of the political party shall be allowed to participate in the deliberations, and regard shall be had to the candidates for election from different regions and equality between men and women (Article 90, Constitution 2017).
Article 90 states that "any political party which sends a candidate for election on a constituency basis shall have the right to send a candidate for election on a party list basis. In sending a candidate for election on a party list basis, each political party shall prepare one list of candidates, in which candidates for election of each political party shall not be the same as others’ and not be the same as the names of candidates for election on a constituency basis. Such list of candidates shall be submitted to the Election Commission prior to the end of the period for application for candidacy for election of Members of the House of Representatives on a constituency basis. In the preparation of a list of candidates under paragraph two, the members of the political party shall be allowed to participate in the deliberations, and regard shall be had to the candidates for election from different regions and equality between men and women (Article 90, Constitution 2017)."
Additional reading
- See the latest updates on Thailand on iKNOW Politics
- "Palladino, L. (2020)"Exploring Barriers to Women's Political Representation in Thailand." Rice University: https://doi.org/10.25611/ytvt-b171."
- Choi, N. (2019) Women’s political pathways in Southeast Asia, International Feminist Journal of Politics,21:2, 224-248, DOI: 10.1080/14616742.2018.1523683
- Thailand Government, Public Relations Department, ‘Elected Women in National Politics’,