Politics News
Keep up-to-date with the most important Politics News in Thailand, offering comprehensive coverage of government decisions, policy changes, and electoral developments. We closely follow domestic and international political events, providing reliable news analysis, impartial opinions, and thought-provoking commentaries. Stay informed about the political landscape in Thailand, key players, and the impact of their decisions on citizens’ everyday lives.
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Official detained after spreading rumour of planned coup to oust PM
Following a rumour that a military coup to remove PM Prayut Chan-o-cha from office was in the works, a state official has been detained, accused of spreading fake news. The Bangkok Post reports that deputy police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen has confirmed that a man has been detained for questioning in the central province of Chachoengsao, where he has admitted to…
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Facebook fake news post suggesting a coup faces prosecution
While pressure has been mounting against PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, a Facebook user posted a false claim that an army had captured the Prime Minister and is staging a coup and is now facing charges. The story was posted midday yesterday and seemed to detail a coup attempt, alleging that 300 military members from Lop Buri were already holding PM Prayut…
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Foodpanda rider arrested on lèse majesté charges
Recently, Foodpanda faced public backlash and calls to be boycotted after they said they planned to fire a rider who was branded a terrorist. Yesterday, the same rider was arrested in Pathum Thani, a central province near Bangkok, on lèse majesté charges, arson and violation of the Emergency Decree’s ban on gatherings. The rider has been identified as 25 year…
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Calls mount to boycott Foodpanda following plans to fire rider/protester
Foodpanda is being excoriated today following the food delivery service’s announcement that it was going to fire an employee for attending a pro-democracy protest. Users and restaurants of the service say they will boycott the service. The boycott (or pandacott) come after the service said it planned to fire a rider who was photographed at a protest. The company says…
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Donald Trump files lawsuit against Facebook, Twitter, and Google
Former US President Donald Trump has announced that he is leading a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, Google, and Twitter. He is claiming censorship as a violation of the United States Constitution’s right to free speech. Legal experts see no validity in the lawsuit as the constitutional right to free speech only applies to suppression by the government, not private companies…
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Pro-democracy activists to march in support of restaurant operators
The pro-democracy Ratsadon group is planning another march today, calling once again for the resignation of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. Activists are also organising a flea market to shows its opposition to the current ban on dining-in at restaurants in Bangkok and a number of other provinces. The controversial restrictions were introduced at short notice on Monday, taking restaurant operators by…
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Activist group seeks to dissolve ruling Palang Pracharath Party, PM’s resignation
An activist group that goes by the name Prachachon Khonthai (People Of Thailand, or POT), say they are filing a petition to dissolve the ruling Palang Pracharath Party next week. The 30 members strong group had come together yesterday on Phitsanulok Road, Bangkok. They gathered surrounded by 300 nearby police officers. The leader, Nititorn Lamlua, who was previously a People’s…
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Britain’s health minister resigns after affair breaks Covid guidance
The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis Yesterday, Britain health minister, Matt Hancock resigned after admitting he broke Covid-19 guidance after kissing and “embracing” his non-wife/aide in his office. The move did not sit well with colleagues amidst the lockdown. Matt…
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Gathering for 89th anniversary of constitutional monarchy
Beginning early this morning, hundreds of people gathered at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok to commemorate the 89th anniversary of the revolution that created the constitutional monarchy of Thailand. At 4:30 am on June 24, 1932, the revolutionaries with the People’s Party declared that the absolute monarchy was over. Today, Ratsadon and other related anti-establishment groups met at the monument…
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Bangkok police prepare for pro-democracy rallies on Thursday
The deputy commissioner of Bangkok’s Metropolitan Police Bureau says the force is ready to handle pro-democracy rallies planned for Thursday. Piya Tawichai says 4 groups are expected to stage rallies to commemorate a revolution carried out by Khana Ratsadon (The People’s Party) on June 24, 1932. The authorities are expecting rallies from 4 pro-democracy groups commemorating the 89th anniversary of…
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Amendment to reform Constitution rejected by Parliament
A draft amendment started by Pheu Thai Party, an opposition party, to establish a Constitution Drafting Assembly has just been rejected in the parliament. The legal advisory committee to parliament rejected the amendment, which was intended as a path towards creating a new, revised charter. The section in question, Section 256 in Thailand’s constitution, would be amended in order to…
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Thamanat elected to role of head ‘fixer’ in Palang Pracharat party
Thamanat Prompow, still the Thai deputy agricultural minister, now has a firm grasp of the reigns of the ruling Palang Pracharat Party, the leading coalition party of the Thai government. Thamanat’s stay in an Australian prison for 4 years of a 6 year sentence on heroin trafficking charges back in the 90s, has not swayed his fellow MPs in electing…
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Thai PM ignores demands to step down, insists he’s going nowhere
The Thai PM is fending off near-daily calls for his resignation, insisting he’s going nowhere before the end of his term in office. Prayut Chan-o-cha was speaking during a parliamentary session yesterday, when he declared his intention to see out his 4-year term. Thai PBS World reports that the speech was part of an address to senators, to justify an…
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Despite rumours, PM and goverment not planning early election
Amid a scattered Covid-19 response and vaccine rollout, and plenty of political fingerpointing and whispers, government officials dismiss rumours that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha will call an early special election. The rumours gained traction after the prime minister urged cabinet members to hasten their work as the administration had only 1 year left, when in fact the 4-year term ends in…
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Thai PM not happy with soccer gambling
Prayut Chan-o-cha, has voiced his concern that there has been an uptick in illegal gambling by Thai people throughout the UEFA European Soccer Championship (AKA Euro 2020). The PM told the Royal Thai Police, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, and “relevant agencies” to tighten the scrutiny of illegal gambling, with an emphasis on online gambling. He also asked…
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Former Thai PM absolved of any wrongdoing
According to an insider from the investigative panel of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Thailand’s former PM, Yingluck Shinawatra, and her cabinet have been absolved of any wrongdoing in relation to the approval of around 1.9 billion baht payment for victims of political protests and the quelling of red shirt protests by troops from 2005 to 2010. They were absolved by…
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Pro-PM Prayut public relations campaign draws criticism
In what critics believe to be an ill-conceived plan, the Prime Minister Operations Centre has launched a campaign to tell people to lay off the criticism of Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. In a charm offensive to encourage Thais to think “the PM is cool, so just chill out”, critics say the PR campaign has across as “aggressive and pompous”. The…
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American expats to US government: give us vaccines!
With the visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman, a collection of high-profile American expats living in Thailand released an open letter asking for Covid-19 vaccines. The letter pled with the US government to include arrangements to guarantee vaccines to all US expats in the kingdom. “Don’t abandon us! The US continues to have a growing vaccine…
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US Deputy Secretary of State pledges Covid-19 aid
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha met with United States Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman yesterday to discuss the Covid-19 vaccine situation. The US representative acknowledged Thailand’s struggle to procure and distribute vaccines to everyone in the country, observing that many countries are grappling with similar issues. She declared that the US has been pursuing a policy of procuring excess supplies…
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PM moved vaccine funds from Health Ministry to Central Fund in case of “urgent need”
The PM has been re-jigging the government coffers, saying he transferred funding for Covid-19 vaccines from the Health Ministry to the Central Fund – in case of urgent need. Prayut Chan-o-cha was addressing MPs yesterday, the last day of a 3-day debate on the 3.1-trillion-baht national budget for 2022. In particular, the PM was responding to criticism from the coalition’s…
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Proposed amendment may harm government transparency
Thailand is moving to take 1 step towards transparency and 2 steps back, as a proposed amendment to the Official Information Act moves from the public’s right of access towards protecting state secrets. The new amendment would give exception to disclosure of anything considered to have the potential to harm the monarchy, military affairs and national security. A chapter named…
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Former Finance Minister petitions to revoke approval of government’s 700 billion baht loan
A former politician, who served as Finance Minister from 2011 to 2012, is petitioning the Supreme Administrative Court to revoke approval for the government’s 700 billion baht loan. Cabinet recently approved an executive decree that allows the government to borrow the funds, in order to restore Thailand’s decimated economy and combat the Covid-19 crisis. Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala says he doesn’t object…
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Opposition vows to oppose budget, calls on coalition members to do likewise
Thailand’s main opposition party says it will oppose the national budget when it enters parliament on May 31. The Pheu Thai party is also calling on members of the ruling coalition to do the same. Deputy party leader Yutthapong Charassathien says his party will vote against the budget to prevent the bill from passing. According to a Bangkok Post report,…
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Happy Birthday? 7 year anniversary of coup in Thailand
Yesterday markED the 7th anniversary of the coup in which the National Council for Peace and Order took control of Thailand and Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, then chief of the Thai Army, rose to power. Differing opinions persist as regards progress for Thailand in the last 7 years and also the failings of the Thai ‘government’ since the coup. Some argue…
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PM representatives file police complaint against Thai singer and government critic
Representatives of Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, have filed a police complaint against the Thai singer Suthipong Tadpitakkul, aka, “Heart”. Suthipong has criticised the government’s vaccine procurement plan, a move that has led to accusations of violating the Computer Crime Act and Thailand’s strict lèse majesté law. The PM’s lawyer, Apiwat Kanthong, and his assistant minister, Seksakon Atthawong (aka “Rambo Isan”)…
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Opposition party forms new subcommittee to remove Thammanat
The opposition party has created a new subcommittee to push for the removal of embattled Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thammanat Prompaew after the Constitutional Court’s ruling last week that he is fit to serve despite his Australian drug trafficking conviction. The Court ruled that the minister, a member of the Palang Pracharath Party, is qualified despite spending 4 years…
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Royal Thai police say new uniforms will help in pursuit of criminals
The Royal Thai Police say new uniforms will help them be more “agile” in their pursuits of criminals. The uniform’s prototype is still under trials and has yet to be launched. The move to change uniforms has been attempted in the past, with tourist police once seeing their usual long-sleeved khaki shirt with shoulder pads and metal badges morph to…
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Thailand to remain on US Trade watch list over online piracy and intellectual property violations
Thailand is to remain on the US Trade Representative’s watch list as it tackles intellectual property violations and online piracy. Director-general of the Intellectual Property Department, Vuttikrai Leewiraphan, says the USTR made the announcement in its annual report that was released April 30. The report includes findings for more than 100 trading partners after engaging with stakeholders and further research.…
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Confirmation of Deputy Minister Thammanat, despite drug conviction, draws derision
Though not unexpected, the decision on Tuesday to allow Deputy Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompow to keep his status in spite of an Australian drug conviction in the 1990s still drew plenty of outrage and backlash. In what some called Thailand’s lowest point, allowing the minister to keep his post may set a damning precedent regarding Thailand’s international obligations such as…
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Diplomatic spat between China and Australia, Chinese suspend economic dialogue
A diplomatic spat between China and Australia has the Communist State suspending all economic dialogue “indefinitely” between the 2 countries as of today. A statement by China’s National Development and Reform Commission detailed some of the reasoning behind the move, which is under the China-Australia Strategic Economic Dialogue. “Recently, some Australian Commonwealth Government officials launched a series of measures to…
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