Most-elected MP Chuan returns to a House dominated by new faces

According to the House Secretariat, 268 of the 500 MPs are first-timers.

Move Forward, which captured 151 seats, has 120 new faces followed by 45 first-timers from the second-largest winner, Pheu Thai.

Palang Pracharath comes in third with 20 new faces, including party leader General Prawit Wongsuwon.

Other parties with new faces are United Thai Nation Party (16), Democrat (7), Thai Sang Thai (5), Prachachart (4), and Pheu Thai Ruam Palang (2).

The Chart Thai Pattana, Thai Counties Party, Mai Party, Palang Sungkhom Mai and Fair Party also have one new-face MP each.

Among the 500 MPs of the new House, Democrat party-list MP Chuan Leekpai became the most-elected lawmaker of all time. The 84-year-old veteran has been elected 17 times.

Though the House was officially opened in a state ceremony presided over by His Majesty the King on Monday, two MPs were conspicuously absent.

They were United Thai Nation’s party-list MP Pirapan Salirathavibhaga and Move Forward’s former No 27 party-list MP Nathiphat Kunsetthasit.

Reports have indicated that Pirapan had other commitments, while Nathiphat could not report to work because the Min Buri Criminal Court had found her guilty of drunk driving and given her a suspended jail term.

Her MP status was automatically invalidated by the sentence.

In terms of gender proportions, the new House is still dominated by men – 318 constituency MPs and 86 party-list MPs.

In comparison, the new House has 95 women – 82 constituency MPs and 13 party-list MPs.

The number of women has risen slightly from the previous House, which had 82 female MPs.

Meanwhile, the youngest MPs this time are Move Forward’s Thavivong Tothavivong and Pheu Thai’s Sudarat Pithakpornpallop. Both are 27.

Thavivong was elected in Ayutthaya’s Constituency 1 and Sudarat in Ubon Ratchathani’s Constituency 7. Both new faces beat long-time champions in their constituencies.

The oldest male MP in the new House is Pheu Thai party-list MP Wiroj Pao-in, 89, and the oldest woman MP is Palang Pracharat MP from Sa Kaew’s Constituency 1, Kwanruan Thienthong. She is 79.

Statistics show that Palang Pracharath MP Thawee Surabal from Trang’s Constituency 2 won 63,185 votes, the highest ever, beating previous record-holder veteran Democrat MP Sathit Wongnongtoey.

The woman with the highest number of votes was Putthita Chai-anan, Move Forward MP from Chiang Mai’s Constituency 4. She earned 62,009 votes, beating the constituency’s five-time winner, Pheu Thai’s Witthaya Songkham.