General elections were held in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

on 24 July 1988. The

Thai Nation Party Thai Nation Party, or Chart Thai Party (, ) was a Conservatism, 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 (Thailand), People's Power P ...

emerged as the largest party, winning 87 of the 357 seats. Voter turnout was 64%.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p286 Leaders of the top five elected political parties, consisting of the

, the

Social Action Party The Social Action Party (, ) was a former political party in Thailand. History The Social Action Party was formed by the more liberal members of the Democrat Party in 1974 under the leadership of Kukrit Pramoj. After Kukrit resigned the offic ...

, the Democrat Party, the Ruam Thai Party and the Thai Citizen Party, discussed forming a government. All agreed that General

Prem Tinsulanonda Prem Tinsulanonda (, , ; 26 August 1920 – 26 May 2019) was a Thai military officer, politician, and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from 1980 to 1988. During Prem’s tenure as prime minister, he was credited with end ...

, the incumbent prime minister, should continue in office, and met with him his residence at Ban Si Sao Thewet on the evening of 27 July. However, Tinsulanonda refused to serve as prime minister for a fourth term, saying eight years and five months as Prime Minister was enough.

Chatichai Choonhavan Chatichai Choonhavan (; , ; 5 April 1920 – 6 May 1998) was a Thai army officer, diplomat and politician. From 1986 to 1991, he was the chairman of the Thai Nation Party and served as the Prime Minister of Thailand from August 1988 until the 1 ...

of the Thai Nation Party subsequently became Prime Minister on 4 August, appointing his cabinet on 9 August. Tinsulanonda was appointed as a Privy Councilor on 23 August.

Results

References

{{Thai elections

1988 elections in Thailand General elections in Thailand