The Socialist Front was a political coalition in Thailand, formed by left-wing parties in late 1956.Wilson, David A.. China, Thailand and the Spirit of Bandung (Part II), in The China Quarterly, No. 31 (Jul. - Sep., 1967), pp. 96-127 The main group in the coalition was the Economist Party, led by Thep Chotinuchit. The other two constituents of the Socialist Front were the Free Democratic Party and the Hyde Park Movement Party.Ockey, James. Through Multiple Transitions in Thailand. Variations on a Theme: Societal Cleavages and Party Orientations , in Party Politics 2005; 11; 728 Thep Chotinuch was the chairman of the Socialist Front. The parliamentarians who founded the Socialist Front came from northeast Thailand.Nguyen, Thi Dieu. The Mekong River and the Struggle for Indochina: Water, War, and Peace. Westport, Conn: Praeger, 1999. p. 81 The Socialist Front favoured a neutralist foreign policy, and called for Thai withdrawal from SEATO, as well as being strongly anti-American.
In the 1975 general election the Socialist Front won ten seats, all of them from the northeast. In total, the Socialist Front got 3.8 percent of the nationwide vote.
History The Socialist Front was dissolved following the military coup of 6 October 1976, when the National Administrative Reform Council dissolved all political parties in Thailand in the aftermath of the Thammasat University massacre.
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