The live broadcast of the first session of the 27th House of Representatives focuses on the key agenda: voting for the Speaker and the first and second Deputy Speakers, with the frontrunners expected to remain unchanged rather than surprising outcomes occurring.
On 15 March 2026, following the official parliamentary opening ceremony held yesterday (14 March), the 27th House of Representatives convened its first extraordinary session of the year, with the key agenda being: the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the first and second Deputy Speakers. , it is clear that the Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) will nominate Mr. Sophon Sarum, Member of Parliament for Buriram, for the position of Speaker, and Ms. Mallika Jiraphanwanich, MP for Lopburi, as the first Deputy Speaker, while the second Deputy Speaker position is allocated to the Pheu Thai Party (PT), which plans to nominate Mr. Lertsak Pattanaichakul, MP for Loei. The Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) will nominate Mr. Sophon Sarum, MP for Buriram, as Speaker and Ms. Mallika Jiraphanwanich, MP for Lopburi, as the first Deputy Speaker. Meanwhile, the second Deputy Speaker position is a quota for the Pheu Thai Party (PT), which intends to nominate Mr. Lertsak Pattanaichakul, MP for Loei. The Prachachon Party (PChon) has resolved to nominate a candidate for the Speaker position, though the identity of the nominee has not yet been disclosed.
At 09:30, the parliamentary session began live broadcast. Mr. Phairoj Lohsoontorn, a 90-year-old party-list MP from the Pheu Thai Party, serving as the eldest MP of the 27th House, acted as the temporary chair. Before the vote, MPs must take the oath of office in the chamber as mandated by Section 115 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand.
However, attention remains on how many votes the nominated candidates will receive. Regarding the voting procedure, Mr. Siroj Paetyaphan, Secretary-General of the House of Representatives, explained that if there are no competing candidates or only one nominee per position, no vote is required. Instead, each nominee will present their vision to the House for 10 minutes. This would expedite the process. However, if multiple candidates compete, a secret ballot is held according to the rules, potentially taking up to 2 hours and 30 minutes per position. MPs vote in alphabetical order, receive ballots, write the name of their preferred candidate, and deposit the ballot in the box. A committee comprising representatives from each party counts the votes.
Watch the live broadcast here.