The election: Words you need to know

Despite the obstacles to a smooth election Sunday, we will still likely to see much of the basic election vocabulary. Let's get started today so you can be prepared for our Bangkok Post election coverage.

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Election basics are not supposed to change much from poll to poll, but the February 2 election is likely to be the most unusual and least satisfying Thai election ever. That, of course, is the result of the current political conflict which makes it impossible for a new parliament to be convened quickly – perhaps even for several months

Still, we will still see much of the basic election vocabulary and let's get started with it so you can be prepared for our Bangkok Post election coverage.

Election basics

Let’s start with the most basic vocabulary of all. A good place to begin is with the word election itself which you certainly must know already. The verb form is elect and the adjective form is electoral as in the electoral system or the electoral process. You may even see some other forms of the word, like electioneering which refers to all the different ways of trying to get people to support you in an election.

The people who do the electing, of course, are the voters – or more specifically, the eligible voters, i.e., the people who have the right to vote. In Thailand's case this means Thai citizens who are 18 years old or more.

Another term that is used to refer to an election is poll or the polls. People go to the polls on election day where they vote at polling stations. There, they receive ballots, the pieces of paper that they mark to vote. When they have made their choice, they put their ballots in the ballot box. Another way of saying this is that they cast their ballot, a fancy way of saying "vote".

Candidates and parties

The purpose of the February 2 general election is to elect members of parliament (MPs). Each MP fills a parliamentary seat. The people competing for these seats are called candidates. The pre-election competition, or campaign, is often called a race and we say that the candidates run for election.

In Thailand, there are two types of candidates, meaning that each voter casts two ballots. The candidates best known to the voters are those who are vying to represent a constituency, or an election district. But Thailand also has what is known as a proportional representation or a party list system. Altogether, 500 parliamentary seats are up for grabs on Sunday, 375 in constituencies and 125 on the party list.

Under the proportional representation system, political parties select candidates for voters to choose. The number of them who are actually elected to parliament depends of the percentage of the vote their party obtains. It takes 250,000 votes to elect one party-list MP.

Under the proportional representation system, small parties are at a big disadvantage since they are unable to garner enough votes to elect party-list MPs. That is one reason why we see some party mergers and why some veteran politicians defect from small parties to larger parties. Even the larger parties have weaknesses, however. Few of them of them are capable of contesting the election nationally. Most have their own limited bastions or strongholds of support.

Promises, promises

Political parties are very important in Thailand. They field the candidates, help them campaign and they form the government that results from the election. In an attempt to persuade, or woo, voters to vote for their candidates, they announce their party policies in what is known as their platform or manifesto.

The election campaign is a time of promises. Political candidates pledge to benefit their constituents in many ways. They vow to provide better jobs, better schools, better transport, better this and better that. In recent years these promises have come in the form of specific programmes aimed at the grassroots level, populist programmes like the rice-pledging scheme, village funds, 30-baht universal medical care, cheap loans for first-time car-buyers and monthly allowances for senior citizens (old people).

Rural voters still outnumber those in urban areas, so they get a lot of attention during election campaigns. Here canvassers are especially important. They are directly responsible for mobilising support for political parties and candidates, encouraging voters to attend rallies and, of course, to go to the polls on election day. Long before the campaign, rival parties often find themselves competing for the most effective canvassers. 

Under normal circumstances, once the campaign begins, opinion surveys, or polls, are held frequently so it doesn’t take long for people to get an idea of which parties are the front-runners and which are the underdogs. There are always shocks in elections, however, so don’t be surprised if some of the underdogs pull an upset victory. Many constituency races are likely to be very close, with two or three candidates running neck and neck.

Election day and beyond

On election day voters go to their polling stations to cast their ballots. One of the big numbers that everyone watches for as the ballots are counted is the turnout, the percentage of eligible voters who actually vote. The election results are described as election returns or the outcome of the election.

Don't expect the election to be completely finished on election day, especially this election. The Election Commission will likely have deal with many complaints of election fraud in the constituency voting and the commissioners may issue quite a number of yellow cards and even red cards. Both will require new polls to be held.

This year, the Election Commission's job is even more complicated because many voters will not be able to vote. In the South, candidate registration was blocked in many constituencies and even the ballots may not arrive in constituencies where officials want to try to open the polling stations. They are being blocked at post offices. The immediate result of all this is that there won't be enough members of parliament to hold a meeting and choose the next prime minister

Once the election outcome is known, attention turns to the formation of a new government. This year, although it is likely that a single party will win an absolute majority of the seats in parliament, it still might want to invite other parties to join.  Thus, the next government is likely to be a coalition made up of two or more political parties.

Forming a coalition is often a lengthy and complicated process. The various parties involved will often bargain very hard for choice cabinet seats.

Even after a government is formed, there is no guarantee it will be allowed to function smoothly. Political parties making up the coalition, or factions within these parties, may be dissatisfied with the cabinet positions they have been allotted and they may eventually withdraw their support for the government. The current constitution makes it rather easy for opposition parties to censure government ministers – especially the prime minister – and this can also lead to government instability.

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