Thailand dissolves parliament for election

Thailand’s king has endorsed decree to dissolve parliament, paving way for May election; PM Prayuth Chan-ocha has been in power since a 2014 coup
Election expected to highlight long-running political battle between billionaire Shinawatra family and conservative pro-military establishment

Thailand

Reuters

Published: 5:18pm, 20 Mar 2023

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Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has endorsed a decree to dissolve parliament, according to an announcement in the Royal Gazette on Monday, ahead of the end of the lower house’s four-year term on Wednesday, paving the way for an election in May.

It must be held 45 to 60 days after the house dissolution, which takes effect immediately.

“This is a return of political decision-making power to the people swiftly to continue democratic government with the king as head of state,” said the decree.

An election date has yet to be announced but Deputy Prime Minster Wissanu Krea-ngam earlier in the day said it would likely be held on May 14, if the house were dissolved on Monday.

Thailand’s election is expected to showcase a long-running political battle between the billionaire Shinawatra family and the country’s conservative pro-military establishment.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter and niece respectively of ousted former premiers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, is the front runner to be prime minister in opinion surveys, with her support jumping 10 points to 38.2 per cent in a poll released at the weekend.

The poll by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) put Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has been in power since a 2014 coup, in third place with 15.65 per cent.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, front, could be Thailand’s next prime minister. Photo: AP

Prayut announced in January that he would seek another term as prime minister with the United Thai Nation Party, a group formed by veteran politicians which he joined that month.

The dissolving of parliament will allow 68-year-old Prayut more time to campaign and recruit members to run for his new party. Allowing the lower house to complete its term would have barred some politicians who switched parties in recent weeks from contesting in the elections.

Prayut staged a coup to topple the civilian government in May 2014 when he was the army chief and subsequently became interim prime minister of a military-run government. He returned to power under a civilian government after the 2019 election, when he belonged to the Palang Pracharath Party, the current ruling party.

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But even if he is re-elected as prime minister, his term will be limited to two years under the country’s constitutionally mandated eight-year term limit. The Constitutional Court has ruled that this should be counted from April 2017, when the current constitution was promulgated.

Prayuth’s government will step into a caretaker capacity until the new cabinet is sworn in, which is expected to be in early August, government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri has said.

Paetongtarn on Friday said she was confident of winning the election by a landslide, with the aim of averting any political manoeuvring against her party, which has previously been removed from office by judicial rulings and military coups.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg, Kyodo

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