Anchalee Tephabutra resigns from Thailand’s Democrat Party after 31 years

Anchalee Tephabutra, a prominent political figure and a devoted member of the Democrat Party for over 31 years, announced her resignation, causing ripples in the political landscape of Thailand. Having been a confidante to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva during his tenure, her departure from the party marks a significant event.

Anchalee has been a cornerstone for the Democrats in Phuket and represented the province in the House of Representatives. Her dedication to the party and the people she served was evident in her unflinching commitment to her political career, which spanned more than three decades.

Her resignation was made public via a Facebook post yesterday, where she expressed her disappointment with the current leadership of the party. She lamented that the party, founded in 1946, had strayed from its founding principles, embodied by the party slogan, Truth is indeed the undying word.

Anchalee has been a stalwart of the Democrat Party since 1992. She has served as a politician, a member of the House of Representatives, and the President of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organisation (PPAO). But it was her fidelity to the party’s core principles and the well-being of the people and the nation that defined her political ideology.

However, the December 9, election for the new leader of the Democrat Party marked a turning point for Anchalee. She expressed her disillusionment with the party’s current situation, stating that she would retire from politics due to the inability of the present leaders to maintain the party’s ideology and uphold its founding truth.

In her resignation announcement, she expressed her gratitude to her peers and the majority of Democrat Party members who shared her political ideals. Despite her disappointment, she left the door open for future involvement when the nation required it.

In the wake of Anchalee’s resignation, Chalermchai Sri-on was elected the Democrats’ ninth leader at a party meeting on December 9. Abhisit also confirmed his resignation, describing the party’s current status as beyond crisis.

Phuket and the rest of Southern Thailand have traditionally been strongholds of Democrat Party support. However, after the 2014 coup, the political scene drastically changed with candidates from the military-aligned Palang Pracharat Party being elected as Phuket MPs.

In a recent national election, the citizens of Phuket elected candidates from the Move Forward Party to represent them. They claimed victory in all three MP seats in Phuket by considerable margins.

Meanwhile, the Democrat Party’s influence continues to wane, holding only 25 seats in the 500-seat House of Representatives, with just one Democrat currently serving as President at a Provincial Administration Organisation (PAO), reported Phuket News.