Thailand Election News
Thailand election news, campaign updates, candidate profiles, and policy analysis—stay informed on regional and national elections with real-time coverage. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for election news in Thailand
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Thanathorn disqualified as Member of Parliament – Thai Constitutional Court
Leader of the Future Forward Party, 41 year old Thanathorn Jungroongruangkit, has been disqualified as a Member of Parliament following the handing down of a guilty verdict by the Thai Constitutional Court today. The Court’s findings say Thanathorn was still holding shares in a media company when he registered to run in the March 24 national election. Thanathorn presented evidence…
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School funding challenge for bilingual curriculum
The secretary-general of the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), Amnat Wichayanuwat, says plans to introduce a bilingual school curriculum at all grade levels have thrown up an obstacle for meeting funding requirements. The bilingual curriculum plans were announced by the Education Minister last week in an effort to improve English proficiency among the Thai population. It’s hoped to…
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Palang Pracharat are warned not to renege on Thai ministry promises
Amidst rumours circulating that the Palang Pracharat Party may renege on some of the promises it made to secure MP votes from the Democrats and Bhumjaithai, the Democrat party leader Jurin Laksanavisit says he believes the Palang Pracharat party will keep its promises. Thepthai Senpong MP, a key Democrat party member, is warning that the coalition government will be in…
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Palang Pracharat still quibbling over portfolios in the new Thai parliament
Election – check. Vote for PM – check. New government sworn in – not quite yet. There is still a reported back-room fight over cabinet portfolios between factions in the Palang Pracharat Party. Several key ministries were offered to Bhumjaithai and Democrat MPs in return for voting for Prayut Chan-o-cha as PM on Wednesday. Now that Prayut’s been installed back…
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General Prayut Chan-o-cha is Thailand’s 29th Prime Minister
General Prayut Chan-o-cha was elected as Thailand’s next prime minister in a joint upper and lower house Parliamentary vote around 9pm last night following a day of intense debate. Prayut beat his opponent Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit from Future Forward Party with 500 to 244 votes. Three MPs abstained from voting and one was on a sick leave. 250 of the votes came from…
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Thanathorn says he will be Thailand’s Prime Minister of change
Future Forward’s 40 year old leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has called for change this afternoon. He made his speech outside of the temporary parliament as he’s been barred as an MP pending legal cases yet to be heard by the Constitutional Court over alleged media share holdings. The speech was made as the parliament hears from MPs about why they support…
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Thanathorn and Prayut officially nominated as Thai PM candidates
“The current PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha did not attend today’s proceedings.” The Future Forward leader, 40 year old Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, and NCPO chief and current PM Prayut Chan-o-cha have been formally named as candidates for the position of Prime Minister by their parties in Parliament this morning. They were the only two names put forward after the new House Speaker (and…
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Former Democrat Party leader and Thai PM resigns
Former Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva has announced his resignation as a parliamentary MP, saying he could not break his word and follow his Democrat Party’s resolution to support Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha as the next PM. He announced his resignation in the lead up to today’s vote for a new PM, now a cakewalk for the existing PM Prayut after…
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Last minute deal secures Prayut’s PM vote in today’s Thai parliamentary sitting
Leaving it to the last moment, the Democrats dramatically capitulated and decided to join the pro-junta Palang Pracharat coalition. The move gives the current PM, Palang Pracharat’s sole prime ministerial candidate, an easy walk into the PM job during today’s parliamentary vote. General Prayut Chan-o-cha and Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit will face off in the 11am vote. Until yesterday’s…
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Future Forward candidates say they’ve been offered up to 120M baht to vote for Prayut as PM
The big vote for Thailand’s next PM starts tomorrow at 11am. The lead up to the vote, a flurry of desperate offers and deals, has seen the Pro-Junta Palang Pracharat party fall short of a majority, fall WELL short of a majority. Meanwhile, Future Forward party members claimed today that some of their MPs have been offered between 30 million and…
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Phalang Pracharat unable to form Thai coalition – Democrats and Bhumjaithai sitting it out, for now
Close. But no majority. The black suits seemed appropriate for the dismal situation Thai politics faces. Phalang Pracharat, after more than two months of wrangling and negotiations, have been forced to concede that they don’t have the numbers to form a coalition as of this afternoon, repeating that their aim was to set up a stable government. As of this…
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Democrats meet one day before PM election to decide who to support
PHOTO: Democrat party spokesperson, Ramet Rattanachaweng Three sleeps to go before the Thai parliament meets to elect a new PM. The result of that vote is expected to favour the Palang Pracharat prime ministerial candidate, Prayut Chan-o-cha, the man who has been Thailand’s PM for the past five years. The Democrat party say they will decide on Tuesday, whether to…
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Another week of negotiations and still no clear coalition emerges
PHOTO: The Nation – Palang Pracharat pose for a show of unity amongst complete turmoil Democrats walking out of meetings, deals made then broken days later, pending court cases over MPs’ eligibility – it’s never a dull day in Thai politics as we stumble towards a new parliament. Here are the current important milestones you need to know about… •…
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Thai PM’s book recommendation backfires
Literature 1.01. Most people have read George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’. It’s the tale of a ‘democratic’ and utopian farmyard until the pigs get hungry for power and end up running the place as a dictatorship, dressed up as a democracy. The book resonated the fears of a post-WWII Britain and the rise of Stalinism. “All animals are equal, but some…
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Democrats walk away from coalition as bickering continues over ministerial portfolios
It was off, then on again. Now it appears that it’s off, but that could change as today continues. The Pro-army Palang Pracharat’s efforts to build a coalition to form a majority government in the new Thai lower house have reached a new stumbling block amid bickering over ministerial portfolios,. Just two days ago the Bhumjaithai and Democrat parties seemed…
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Democrats cancel meeting to decide if they will join coalition
The posturing between Democrats and Palang Pracharat continues as a call for key ministerial positions by the Democrats is being met with resistance. The Democrats are threatening to pull out of a potential coalition with Palang Pracharat after cancelling a meeting yesterday where members were to decide if they’d join the pro-army alliance. A Democrat source says that there is still…
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Democrats receive official invitation to join Palang Pracharat
PHOTO: Thai PBS Palang Pracharat have sent an official invitation to the Democrats to join their party. But that’s an invitation to join their political party, not an invitation for drinks and balloons. Party leader Uttama Savanayana and core party members, namely Somsak Thepsuthin, Suriya Juangroongruangkit and party secretary-general Sontirat Sontijirawong, visited the Democrat party’s head office today. They were politely received by…
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Thailand’s pro-army party hopes to seal deal with Democrats and Bhumjaithai today
PHOTO: The Nation Palang Pracharat, the political party supporting Thailand’s Junta, is hoping it can complete negotiations and make a deal today to which would see it with enough parliamentary seats to keep Prayut Chan-o-cha in power as prime minister. This analysis from a lawmaker who is a board member of the Palang Pracharat party in a Reuters article. The…
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Tough times ahead for next Thai government after hard fought weekend votes
It took most of two days for the new parliament to elect a House Speaker and two deputies. All votes, after much prevarication, won by slender margins. The Palang Pracharat Party is emerging as the party with the numbers but there are tough times ahead for any government as the votes have not been falling uniformly and the ‘swing’ parties…
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Former PM Chuan elected speaker of lower house
If the first item on the new parliament’s agenda is any indication, it’s going to be a very dynamic lower house. Things didn’t go smoothly on the first day. Ex-PM Chuan Leekpai, a Democrat candidate proposed by the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat Party, secured 258 votes to 235 for Pheu Thai nominee Sompong Amornvivat. One MP abstained. Some Pheu Thai PMs…
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Thanathorn forced to sit out Parliament opening today amid media share controversy
“This is not the time to lose hope. It’s the time to stand against injustice.” – Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit The Constitutional Court has agreed to hear the Election Commission’s plea to disqualify Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit from the House of Representatives over his alleged shareholding in media company V-Luck. The judges voted 9-0 to hear the case, and suspended the…
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Coalition talks. And then there were…. THREE
PHOTO: Facebook page of Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul With HM The King opening parliament on May 24, it is hoped that the political horse-trading may be over when the new lower house sits for the first time. The two parties that hold the key to a workable majority coalition are the Democrats and Bhumjaithai. They have been prevaricating for more…
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Bhumjaithai and Democrats holding off decision for key roles
PHOTO: The horse-trading continues Nearly two months after the March 24 election and still no government formalised. The horse-trading has been fast and furious with rumours and speculation running rife over recent days. It is thought that some announcements will be made today or tomorrow in the lead up to the opening of parliament on Friday. But it’s certainly coming…
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Pro-junta bloc says they have a ‘deal’ with Democrats and Bhumjaithai
PHOTO: Bhumjaithai party leader Anutin Charnvirakul slated to be the new Health Minister The week kicks off with rumours swirling about deals done over the weekend. Meanwhile HM The King will open Parliament on May 24. ‘Who’ will set ‘where’ will be interesting. The Pro-Junta proxy party, Phalang Pracharat Party, is taking the upper PR hand and claims to have successfully cobbled…
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PM in full battle mode defending the appointment of Senators
PHOTO: The Nation The Thai PM is showing his glass jaw again by asking critics and the media to stop criticising the manner in which the new Senate was selected, or the actual senators. PM Prayut claims that they had been screened and now have been royally endorsed. Critics were claiming that many of the senators are “old faces”, relatives of…
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HM the King will preside over opening of Parliament on May 24
Some political water is yet to pass under the bridge with no clear coalition coming together at this stage to form Thailand’s next parliament. Meanwhile it’s been announced that HM the King will preside over the opening of the new parliament on May 24, exactly two months after the general election. A Royal Decree was issued for parliament to convene starting…
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Bhumjaithai’s Anutin says he won’t support a PM dependent on the senate vote
Anutin Charnvirakul, the Bhumjaithai leader, has made it clear that his party will not support a PM candidate who does have the backing from a simple majority of MPs in Parliament. Bhumjaithai, coming fifth in sheer MP numbers following the March 24 election (behind Pheu Thai, Palang Pracharat, Future Forward and the Democrats), has become a king-maker in the jockeying…
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Prayut says he commands the support of 11 small parties to become next PM
Eleven smaller parties have declared they will vote for the current junta chairman Prayut Chan-ocha as Thailand’s next PM when parliament convenes. A spokesperson says that the 11 small parties, commanding one party-list MP each, believe the current PM is the best person to lead the country and head up the new parliament. But the gesture of support only carries…
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Vast majority of poll respondents oppose ministers and NCPO members joining Senate
PHOTO: Trying to explain the unexplainable Most Thais are unhappy with the party-list seat announcements and the perceived nepotism in the selection of parliamentary Senate members. A majority of respondents in a Suan Dusit Poll disagree with the ‘formula’ used to calculate party-list seats and with cabinet ministers and members of the military junta taking up new roles in the…
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And then there was three – a new bloc emerges from the political number-crunching
PHOTO: The latest political weapon – an adding machine A third possible bloc is emerging as the phones run hot with major parties trying to persuade the smaller parties and solo MPs to side with them. The magic number is 251 seats to form a workable majority coalition. Any fewer than 250 will mean they risk being defeated on any…
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