BANGKOK (Realist English). Thailand has dissolved its parliament and will hold a general election within 45 to 60 days, after nearly a week of renewed fighting along the Cambodian border and mounting pressure on Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s fragile minority government.
A royal decree published Friday said Anutin moved to disband the House after concluding that escalating crises — including deadly border clashes and widespread flooding — had overwhelmed his administration. “The appropriate solution is to dissolve parliament… returning political power to the people,” he wrote in the decree endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Anutin, a businessman-turned-politician and Thailand’s third prime minister since August 2023, had initially pledged to dissolve parliament by the end of January. But facing an imminent no-confidence vote, he opted to bring the election forward.
His Bhumjaithai Party has been under intense criticism, particularly for its handling of severe flooding in southern Thailand last month that killed at least 176 people. The renewed border clashes with Cambodia have left at least 20 dead and displaced hundreds of thousands, further eroding confidence in the government.
Anutin acknowledged that as a minority administration, his government had been unable to ensure “continuous, effective and stable” public administration.
Loss of key parliamentary ally
The dissolution followed the withdrawal of support from the People’s Party, the youthful, reformist bloc that holds the largest number of seats in parliament. Although ideologically opposed to the conservative Bhumjaithai, the party had initially backed Anutin in exchange for commitments to rewrite the military-drafted constitution and dissolve the House within four months.
The People’s Party now accuses Bhumjaithai of breaking that agreement, and Thai media reported it was preparing to file a no-confidence motion on Friday. On Thursday, the party publicly urged Anutin to dissolve parliament to “show responsibility towards the people,” later posting: “See you at the polling stations.”
A year of political upheaval
Thailand remains mired in political instability. Two prime ministers have already been removed by the courts this year.
Anutin’s predecessor Paetongtarn Shinawatra was disqualified for an ethics violation after being heard in a leaked call referring to Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen as “uncle” and criticising Thailand’s military.
Before her, Srettha Thavisin was dismissed for appointing a former lawyer with a prior criminal conviction to the cabinet.
The upcoming election is expected to be fiercely contested, with constitutional reform, military influence and Thailand’s fractious coalition politics all likely to dominate the campaign.
