BANGKOK (Realist English). Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has submitted a formal decree to dissolve parliament, after the country’s largest opposition party threw its support behind a rival candidate to lead the next government.
The “house dissolution decree,” filed on Wednesday by the ruling Pheu Thai party, is awaiting royal approval, party secretary-general Sorawong Thienthong confirmed. The move followed swiftly after the People’s Party announced it would back the Bhumjaithai party and its leader, Anutin Charnvirakul, to form a new government.
Pheu Thai has been scrambling to preserve its fragile coalition since the Constitutional Court removed Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister last week, citing ethical violations linked to a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen.
People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut told reporters his 143 lawmakers had “agreed to support” Anutin as the next prime minister, on the condition that parliament is dissolved and new elections are held within four months “so that power can be returned to the people as soon as possible.”
Anutin, heir to a construction and engineering fortune, said he has secured the backing of 146 lawmakers. A veteran politician, he previously served as deputy prime minister, interior minister and health minister, delivering in 2022 on his pledge to legalise recreational cannabis.
A parliamentary vote on Thailand’s next prime minister could take place as early as Friday, according to opposition leaders.
