Thailand Politics

The Kingdom of Thailand is governed by a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. The present monarch is King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who ascended the throne after his brother's death in 1946 and was crowned king in 1950.

Constitutionally, power rests with the prime minister, a cabinet and bicameral legislature (the national assembly) composed of senates and an elected house of representatives.

The 393-member house of representatives is elected for a four-year term. Executive power is vested in the Prime Minister and cabinet of ministers, with the former drawn from the ranks of the national assembly-normally the leader of the largest party (or largest party in the governing coalition).

Under the 16^th and most recent version of the constitution, enforced in 1998, some changes have been made to the national assembly. The senators, who were previously appointed by the , are now elected directly by the people. The new constitution also introduced a party list system for the election of the members of house of representatives.

The country has four main regions, sub-divided into 76 provinces, each administered by a governor appointed by the Ministry of Interior. Provinces are sub-divided into districts, sub-districts, tambon (groups of villages) and villages. Bangkok and Pattaya are exceptional as both cities have their own special administrations. Governors here are elected by the people and are accorded a higher status than appointed provincial governors.