2023 Thai general election

General elections were held in Thailand on 14 May 2023 to elect 500 members of the House of Representatives. The Move Forward Party, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, surprised analysts by winning the most seats, followed by fellow opposition party Pheu Thai who had won the most seats in the 2011 and 2019 elections. Turnout was a record 75.22%.

The elections were held using a parallel voting system as in the 1997 and 2007 constitutions, in contrast to the mixed-member apportionment system used in 2019. Like in 2019, the elected prime minister did not need to be a member of the House and would be chosen by the full National Assembly, including the 250 military-appointed members of the Senate, for a total 376 seat majority. Due to the structure of the National Assembly, experts had warned of a possible gridlock scenario in which the current opposition parties secure more than half of the House votes but are obstructed in the Senate. Additionally, the Election Commission had received criticism over untrustworthiness, unprofessionalism, and bias in its conducting of the voting process.

Sixty-seven parties vied for seats. The ruling conservative coalition government was composed of the major Palang Pracharath, Bhumjai Thai, and Democrat parties, and smaller parties including the new United Thai Nation Party, who nominated former junta leader and incumbent prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha after his split with Palang Pracharath. The pro-democratic opposition was led by the Pheu Thai and Move Forward parties, the latter being the effective successor of the dissolved Future Forward Party, which had performed unexpectedly well in the 2019 election. Political campaigns focused on the Thai economy, especially its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Some parties, most notably Move Forward, also highlighted progressive issues, and challenged long-held social norms in Thailand.

Pita's Move Forward initially formed a coalition with the other pro-democracy, anti-military parties, which had a majority in the lower house but was unable to form a government after being functionally blocked by allies of the monarchy and military in the Senate. Pheu Thai then assumed the lead, dissolving its alliance with Move Forward and allying instead with conservative, pro-military parties. It then nominated real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin as prime minister. He was elected by Parliament on 22 August.

On August 7, 2024, Thailand's Constitutional Court banned the victors of the election, the Move Forward Party and all of its leaders from politics for its proposal to reform the lèse-majesté law, arguing it posed a threat to the constitutional order.