The rise and fall of the minnow parties

Representatives from 20 small political parties campaign in June for support of the use of the 500 divisor to calculate the list-MP seats open for distribution to eligible parties.

Now the charter court has issued a ruling on the election system, all political parties are effectively gearing up for the next poll. With all in place, some pundits even entertain the idea that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha might call for a House dissolution at any time.

The charter court ruling on Wednesday does not only herald the drumbeat of a general election; it spells doom for small parties. The ruling, which favoured the use of 100, instead of 500, as the divisor to calculate party-list MPs, extremely upset small parties as they realised their own extinction was imminent.