A century of political parties in Thailand
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
