Voters in Thailand will head to the polls on Sunday, February 8, for a snap general election to select 500 members of the House of Representatives. The election, called by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, pits his Bhumjaithai party against the progressive People’s Party and the established Pheu Thai party. A concurrent referendum will also ask voters whether to approve the drafting of a new constitution.
The election follows a period of political shifts, including the judicial removal of the previous prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the Pheu Thai party, and border clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces that ended with a ceasefire in December. Prime Minister Anutin dissolved the House in December after facing a potential no-confidence vote, triggering the early election.
Approximately 53 million people are eligible to vote. Polling stations are scheduled to open at 8 a.m. local time and close at 5 p.m. Election results are expected to become clear by early Monday.
The Main Parties and Platforms
Three main parties are competing for control of the government. A party or coalition requires 251 votes in the newly elected lower house to form a government and select a prime minister. For the first time since the 2014 coup, the 250-member appointed Senate will not participate in the selection of the prime minister.
Bhumjaithai: Led by incumbent Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the party has positioned itself as a defender of the monarchy. It has campaigned on a platform of economic stimulus, expanded welfare programs, and national security, including building border walls. The party has attracted 64 of the 91 lawmakers who have switched parties since the 2023 election. Napon Jatusripitak, a director at the Thailand Future think tank, said the party has “claimed the conservative mantle.”
People’s Party: This party is the successor to the Move Forward party, which won the most seats in the last election but was blocked from forming a government and later dissolved by the courts. The party’s platform includes abolishing military conscription, drafting a new constitution, and implementing programs to support small businesses. While it previously advocated for reforming the country’s lese-majeste law, which criminalizes defamation of the monarchy, it has moderated its position during this campaign.
Pheu Thai: The party, associated with the family of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has been a dominant force in Thai politics for two decades. After two of its prime ministers were removed by courts and its founder was jailed, the party is campaigning with Thaksin’s nephew, Yodchanan Wongsawat, as its primary representative. Its platform focuses on populist policies, including debt relief, income support, and transport subsidies.
Polling and Key Issues
A survey conducted on January 30 by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) indicated a lead for the People’s Party. The poll placed its leader, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, as the top choice for prime minister at 29.1%, with Anutin at 22.4%. In party-list preference, the People’s Party polled at 34.2%, followed by Bhumjaithai at 22.6% and Pheu Thai at 16.2%.
The recent border conflict with Cambodia has become a campaign issue. Punchada Sirivunnabood, an associate professor at Mahidol University, stated that nationalism could increase support for Anutin’s Bhumjaithai party. She noted that Pheu Thai candidates have faced questions regarding the Shinawatra family’s connections to Cambodian leaders, saying, “This border conflict hurt Pheu Thai a lot.”
Alongside the parliamentary vote, the referendum on replacing the 2017 constitution, drafted under military oversight, will take place. An approval would initiate a lengthy process requiring further parliamentary action and at least two more referendums. According to Napon Jatusripitak, the outcome depends “entirely on the post-election balance of power,” adding that “a more conservative parliament could still produce a conservative constitution.”
