The Mahachon Partyhttp://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2551/D/085/40.PDF ( , ) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. It was founded in 1998 under the name of Phak Ratsadon (). In its first years, it was dominated by a circle of former

Thai Nation Party Thai Nation Party, or Chart Thai Party ( th, พรรคชาติไทย, ) was a conservative political party in Thailand. It was dissolved by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on December 2, 2008, along with the People's Power Party and ...

members around Air Marshal Somboon Rahong. It changed its name to the current version in 2004, and was joined by several defectors from the Democrat Party in January 2005, making it the country's second largest party, measured by the number of members. The new executives included the Democrats' former Secretary General

Sanan Kachornprasart Sanan Kachornprasart ( th, สนั่น ขจรประศาสน์, , ; born 7 September 1935 – 15 February 2013) was a Thai politician and military officer (Major General). He was deputy prime minister in the cabinet of Abhisit ...

, and ex-Vice chairman Anek Laothamatas. In the legislative elections of 6 February 2005, the party won 8.3% of the popular vote and 2 out of 500 seats. During the by-election in 2005 in

Phichit Province Phichit ( th, พิจิตร, , ) is one of Thailand's seventy-six provinces (''changwat'') lies in lower northern Thailand and 330 km due north of Bangkok. Neighbouring provinces are (from north clockwise) Phitsanulok, Phetchabun, Nakh ...

district 3, the Mahachon Party won a third seat. Siriwat Kachornprasart, son of the party's leader

became the third MP. Former Mahachon Party member Nitiphoom Naowarat later successfully contested the Bangkok Senator elections. The party colluded with two other main opposition parties to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

the April 2006 election to make it impossible for another

Thai Rak Thai The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; th, พรรคไทยรักไทย, , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatr ...

-led administration to form. These elections were declared invalid. The new elections planned for October 2006 were canceled due to the September 2006 coup. After Sanan and his son Siriwat Kachornprasart left in 2007, stating that small parties had no chance under Thai electoral law, the party sank into insignificance. The party was revived for the 2011 general election and won one party-list seat, agreeing to be part of

Yingluck Shinawatra Yingluck Shinawatra ( th, ยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร, , ; ; born 21 June 1967), nicknamed Pou ( th, ปู, , , meaning "crab"), is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who became the P ...

's coalition government. In the 2019 general election, the party nominated Pauline Ngarmpring as their Prime Ministerial candidate, making her Thailand’s first transgender individual to run for the position. On 24 January 2020, Gazette Announcement of the

Election Commission of Thailand The Election Commission ( th, คณะกรรมการการเลือกตั้ง, ) is an independent government agency and the sole election management body of Thailand. It oversees government elections (parliamentary elections ...

announcement regarding the Mahachon Party ceasing to be a political party.

References

1998 establishments in Thailand Political parties established in 1998 Political parties in Thailand Political parties disestablished in 2020 Defunct political parties in Thailand {{Thailand-party-stub