Voting opened Sunday (February 8, 2026) in a Thai general election pitting the popular reformists who came first last time against the conservative who ended up as Prime Minister, with ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra looming large from his prison cell.

The Southeast Asian nation’s next government will need to reckon with a longstanding border dispute with Cambodia that erupted into deadly fighting twice last year.

“We need a strong leader who can protect our sovereignty,” said Yuernyong Loonboot, 64, the first voter to cast his ballot at a polling station in Buriram, the hometown of incumbent Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

“Living here, the border conflict has made me anxious. War was never something we used to think about.”

Economic growth is anaemic, with the tourism sector vital but arrivals yet to return to their pre-Covid highs, and multibillion-dollar transnational cyberscam networks operate from several neighbouring countries.

No party is forecast to win an outright majority, and coalition negotiations are expected to follow the results.

“There are forces beyond the political arena in Thailand that call the final shots,” said political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak ahead of voting day.

“It’s not about the election, it’s about the dissolutions.”

The previous version of the progressive People’s Party, Move Forward, won the most seats at the last poll three years ago, but its candidate was blocked from the premiership and the party was later dissolved.

“How could we have resisted them?” said Kitti Sattanuwat, 64, at the final People’s Party rally in Bangkok. “When the system won’t let us form a government then we simply can’t.

“That’s OK, we can fight again,” he added tearfully. “There is hope. People must live with hope.”

Thaksin’s Pheu Thai party came second in 2023 and formed a coalition with the third-placed conservatives Bhumjaithai, only to have its prime minister removed by court order.

He was succeeded by Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was judicially ousted in turn before parliament anointed Bhumjaithai leader Anutin in September — the country’s third Prime Minister in two years.

Thailand’s political history is replete with military coups, bloody street protests and judicial bans on prime ministers and parties.

The last coup in 2014 was followed by five years of junta rule and a military-drafted constitution that gives significant power to institutions appointed by the senate, which is not directly elected.

“People who are elected have been able to be undermined by people who are not elected,” said political scientist Napon Jatusripitak.

“That’s not necessarily a good thing for a country where democratic experience has been turbulent.”

Populist handouts

Move Forward was dissolved after the constitutional court ruled its pledge to reform the strict royal insult law amounted to an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.

The issue has not featured in the People’s Party campaign this time.

The party is the runaway leader in opinion polls, with Anutin’s Bhumjaithai second.

Analysts anticipate the conservative leader, who championed the legalisation of cannabis, could retain the premiership by again allying with Pheu Thai, now ranked third in surveys.

Thailand’s most successful political party of modern times, Pheu Thai has fallen from grace after Paetongtarn was dismissed by the constitutional court over her handling of the Cambodia dispute, and with Thaksin jailed for corruption.

His nephew Yodchanan Wongsawat is seeking to become the family’s fifth prime minister, but pollster NIDA puts the party on just 16%, a far cry from its heyday.

While Bhumjaithai touts its national defence credentials, especially after last year’s clashes with Cambodia, the People’s Party is advocating ending conscription and cutting the number of generals.

All three major parties offer various populist handouts and socioeconomic policies, including Pheu Thai’s pledge to award nine daily prizes of one million baht ($31,000) each to boost the economy.

A referendum ballot on Sunday also gives voters a chance to voice whether they want constitutional reform in principle, but with no specific measures on the table.

Published – February 08, 2026 07:34 am IST

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Phone scams are one of the widespread problems around the world, with many cases of call centers in different countries deceiving people. These scammers often impersonate government officials or tech support representatives to manipulate victims into transferring money. Typically, these calls target ordinary people, but Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra recently revealed that she fell victim to an AI-driven phone scam. The scammer demanded money from her by using a cloned voice of a well-known world leader and claiming that her country was the only ASEAN nation yet to contribute. The prime minister recognised the fake voice but was shocked by the scam’s sophistication, pointing out how the threat of AI-enabled fraud is growing.

According to CNN, Paetongtarn Shinawatra did not reveal who the computer was mimicking but said she received a message in a voice identical to a well-known leader.

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“The voice was very clear, and I recognised it immediately. They first sent a voice clip, saying something like, ‘How are you? I want to work together,’ and so on,” Paetongtarn told CNN.

She said she later missed a call from the same number, then received a voice message that cut to the chase: “They sent another voice message asking for a donation, saying, ‘You are the only country in (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) that hasn’t donated yet,’ emphasising it. I was taken aback for a moment and realised something was off.”

She said whoever sent the message “probably used AI to take the voice” of the unnamed world leader.

Scams or scam centres are not uncommon in Southeast Asia. In recent years, investigators say transnational crime organisations have exploited technological advances and the civil war in Myanmar to build a billion-dollar industry scamming people across the world.

From left to right, Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Aung Kyaw Moe, Philippine’s President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Laos’ President Thongloun Sisoulith, Laos’ Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Indonesian Vice President Ma’ruf Amin, and East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao hold hands during the opening ceremony of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, Laos, on October 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Southeast Asian leaders met in Laos on Wednesday (October 9, 2024) for a summit expected to seek ways to address the worsening civil war in Myanmar, with Thailand calling for heightened engagement ahead of a planned election by the country’s embattled military rulers.

Chaos has prevailed in Myanmar since a 2021 military coup sparked a nationwide rebellion and a civil war that has ravaged the nation of 55 million. The ruling junta has so far refused to hold talks with its opponents, whom it calls terrorists.

Thailand has offered to host an “informal consultation” of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in December to try to find a way out of the intractable conflict that has displaced millions of people.

“ASEAN should send a unified message to all parties in Myanmar that there is no military solution. It is time to start talking,” Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told a meeting of ASEAN leaders. “Thailand is ready to help.”

The junta is conducting a nationwide census to pave the way for an election next year, despite not having control over wide swathes of the country.

ASEAN has so far said little of the proposed election, which has already been widely derided as a sham, with dozens of parties — including the dominant National League for Democracy (NLD), whose government the military toppled — disbanded for not registering to run.

But Ms. Shinawatra hinted at Thailand’s support for holding the vote, saying “more political space and dialogue between parties are vital as Myanmar moves forward with elections”.

Within ASEAN, whose own peace plan for Myanmar has made scant progress, member states are divided between those who want the junta to do more, and those calling for more talks among warring parties, according to Thailand’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura.

“We hope that Myanmar should have internal consultation among all sides. And we encourage that. It has been our position all along,” Nikorndej told a briefing in Vientiane following the leaders’ summit.

In previous months, Thailand has suggested that Myanmar’s other influential neighbours, China and India, might play a role in the peace effort, a stance Ms. Shinawatra reiterated. “Thailand is strengthening the role of neighbouring countries of Myanmar to complement ASEAN’s effort,” she said.

“Virtually zero progress in efforts to get Myanmar’s junta to reduce violence”

Myanmar’s civil war and resolving disputes in the South China Sea are key issues set to dominate the ASEAN leaders’ meeting in Vientiane, which will be followed by two days of summits with premiers and top diplomats from regional and world powers.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are among those set to attend.

Opening Wednesday’s summit, Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone said ASEAN faced many challenges and had its own ways to tackle them.

“Laos deems that ASEAN’s past successes are due to our understanding of each other,” he said. “We help each other, and co-operate with each other, with an ASEAN way and principles. “

Ahead of Mr. Blinken’s trip, the United States’ top diplomat for East Asia, Daniel Kritenbrink, told reporters there had been “virtually zero progress” in efforts to get Myanmar’s junta to reduce violence, free political prisoners and talk to the democratic opposition.

Since ASEAN has barred the Myanmar generals from its summits until they can meet requirements of the peace plan, the country is represented in Laos by a senior Foreign Ministry official.

However, ASEAN must not bend to accommodate the junta’s demands, including recognising its own five-step “roadmap” for what is expected to be a one-sided election, former Thai diplomat Korbsak Chutikul warned.

“Care must be exercised not to be roped into going along with Myanmar’s own five-point plan, like to hold elections next year for a semblance of legitimacy,” Mr. Korbsak added.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra attends a press conference at the Pheu Thai party headquarters following a royal endorsement ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of the divisive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, became Thailand’s Prime Minister after receiving a royal letter of endorsement Sunday (August 18, 2024), two days after she was chosen by Parliament following a court order that removed her predecessor.

She replaces another leader from the same Pheu Thai Party, at the head of a coalition that includes military parties associated with the coup that deposed the party’s last government.

Ms. Paetongtarn is the third Shinawatra to hold the job, after her billionaire father and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. Both were removed from office and forced into exile in coups, although Thaksin returned to Thailand last year as Pheu Thai formed a government.

She received the letter of appointment in a ceremony at the party’s headquarters in Bangkok, attended by senior members of parties in the governing coalition and her father, who has no formal role but is widely seen de facto leader of Pheu Thai.

The father and daughter arrived in the same car, holding hands as they walked in together with beaming smiles.

Ms. Paetongtarn thanked the king, the Thai people and lawmakers, saying she will perform her duties “with an open mind,” and will “make every square inch of Thailand a space that allows Thai people to dare to dream, dare to create and dare to dictate their own future.”

Ms. Paetongtarn became Prime Minister days after the Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, after less than a year in office. The court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach for appointing a Cabinet minister who had been jailed for contempt of court after an alleged attempt to bribe a judge.

Ms. Paetongtarn is also Thailand’s second female Prime Minister after her aunt, and the country’s youngest leader at 37.

PM Modi congratulates Thailand PM

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Ms. Paetongtarn and said he looks forward to working with her to further strengthen ties between the two countries.

“Congratulations @ingshin on your election as the Prime Minister of Thailand. Best wishes for a very successful tenure,” Modi said in a post on X.

“Look forward to working with you to further strengthen the bilateral ties between India and Thailand that are based on the strong foundations of civilisational, cultural and people to people connect,” he said.

Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of populist parties affiliated with Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup, which triggered nearly two decades of deep political divisions that pitted a mostly poor, rural majority in the north that supported Thaksin against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

Parties linked to Thaksin won the most seats in every national election from 2001 until 2023, when it lost to the more progressive Move Forward Party.

Pheu Thai was able to form a government after Move Forward was blocked by the military-appointed Senate, partnering with former rivals in what was widely interpreted as a political bargain with the conservative establishment to stop Move Forward from forming a government.

The same day, Thaksin returned from exile and briefly reported to prison to for an eight-year sentence on charges related to corruption and abuse of power. He was moved almost immediately from prison to the hospital on grounds of ill health, and about a week after that the king reduced his sentence to a single year. He was released on parole in February after spending six months serving time in the hospital.

Since his release, Thaksin has maintained a high profile traveling the country, making public appearances.

On Saturday, Thaksin’s lawyer Winyat Chatmontree posted on Facebook that Thaksin was among the convicts granted a royal amnesty by the king on the occasion of his birthday in late July. It took effect Sunday, which means Thaksin is free ahead of his original parole schedule.

However, the amnesty does not protect Thaksin from an ongoing case for defaming the monarchy, which was indicted in June after being originally filed in 2016. It has been seen by some analysts as a warning from Thaksin’s enemies that he should tone down his political activities.

On the campaign trail in rural Thailand last year, Paetongtarn Shinawatra reminded voters of her influential billionaire family’s legacy of populism in what was her electoral debut.

The 37-year-old, who spent weeks at the hustings while visibly pregnant, delivered mixed results. Her Pheu Thai party came only in second in 2023’s election but cobbled together a ruling coalition after the vote-winner was blocked by military-backed lawmakers.

Now, the daughter of the country’s most divisive but enduring politician, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, will take the office her father and aunt once occupied, underlining her family’s central place in Thai politics.

On Friday, some 48 hours after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was dismissed by a court order, Ms. Paetongtarn secured the parliamentary support required to replace him.

With that win, Ms.. Paetongtarn will become the youngest Thai Prime Minister and only the second woman to occupy the position, after her aunt Yingluck.

She will also seek to beat another recurring theme for the Shinawatra family: The governments led by her father and aunt were toppled by the military in 2006 and 2014, respectively.

“The country has to move ahead,” Ms. Paetongtarn, the youngest of Thaksin’s three children, told reporters after winning Pheu Thai’s nomination on Thursday.

“We are determined, together and we will push the country forward.”

Thaksin himself returned to Thailand last August after 15 years in self-imposed exile, just as Pheu Thai — the latest political vehicle of the former telecom tycoon — forged an alliance with military-backed parties to form a government.

It was an unlikely coming together of the populist Pheu Thai and the conservative-royalist establishment that have battled for supremacy in the country of 66 million people for over two decades, sometimes leading to coups and bouts of civil unrest.

Mr. Srettha was the fourth premier of a Thaksin-backed political party to be removed by a court ruling, a sign of the deep divide that still persists.

Into this breech will step in an untested Ms. Paetongtarn, who has never held an elected government position and has no administrative experience.

“She will be under scrutiny. She will be under a lot of pressure,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University.

“She will have to rely on her father.”

Father’s Long Shadow

Ms. Paetongtarn spent her childhood steeped in the country’s tumultuous politics as an ambitious Thaksin charted a meteoritic rise to wealth and then launched the Thai Rak Thai Party in 1998.

“When I was eight-years-old, my father entered politics. Since that day, my life has also been intertwined with politics,” she said at a speech in March.

Thaksin found his way to the premiership by 2001, and expanded spending on healthcare, rural development and farming subsidies — dubbed “Thaksinomics” for the poor.

He was ejected by a military coup in 2006.

Attending Bangkok’s elite Chulalongkorn University after his unceremonious exit, Ms. Paetongtarn – also known by her nickname Ung Ing – described that period as one of her toughest, when she was also accused of cheating.

“At times, I would see pictures of my father pinned to the wall, crossed out and drawn on,” she said in her March speech.

“At the age of 20, being surrounded by hate was very difficult to overcome.”

In less than two decades from that point, Ms. Paetongtarn, who is married and has two children, found herself as the face of her family-backed Pheu Thai party last year and one of its three prime ministerial candidates.

Last October, after the Pheu Thai navigated a circuitous route to forming the government, she was anointed the party’s leader.

“Pheu Thai will continue with its important mission in improving people’s livelihood,” she declared before hundreds of party members.

Ms. Paetongtarn’s relative inexperience has occasionally shown through.

In May, amid bickering between Mr. Srettha’s administration and the Bank of Thailand over interest rates, she said the central bank’s independence was an “obstacle” in resolving economic problems, drawing criticism.

At the corner office of Bangkok’s Venetian Gothic Government House, Paetongtarn will now likely have the guiding hand of her father to support her – as he always has.

“I consult with my father on all issues, whether on private matters or about work, since I was young,” Ms. Paetongtarn told Reuters last year.

“He has done this before. He was a prime minister.”

Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin could be thrown out of office this week when the country’s Constitutional Court rules on his appointment of a cabinet minister with a criminal conviction.

The case comes a week after the same court disbanded the kingdom’s main opposition political party and banned its former leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, from politics for a decade.

Mr. Srettha is accused of violating ethics rules by appointing Pichit Chuenban, a lawyer closely associated with the family of billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, as a minister.

Mr. Pichit was sentenced to six months in prison in 2008 for a corruption-related offence.

Mr. Pichit resigned from his role in a bid to protect Mr. Srettha, but the Constitutional Court still agreed to hear the case, initiated by a complaint from army-appointed senators.

Mr. Srettha, whose Pheu Thai leads a multi-party coalition government, has said Pichit underwent thorough vetting.

The PM has suggested the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle if he remains in office, according to local media.

If he is removed from office, Pheu Thai would have to nominate a new candidate for prime minister. 

The Constitutional Court has dismissed Prime Ministers in the past, but analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said he does not expect the prime minister to be kicked out.

“I think he will survive because it is hard to find a replacement,” he told AFP.

“He also hasn’t done anything wrong and he is hardworking.” 

Mr. Srettha, a real estate developer who entered politics last year, has seen his policies face significant opposition since he came into office, with a June poll showing that a majority of Thais reject his agenda.

He has pledged support for marriage equality, which was enacted in June after years of advocacy by the LGBTQ community.

His proposals to recriminalise cannabis and distribute 10,000 baht ($280) to over 40 million Thais have sparked controversy both nationally and within his coalition.

The case comes as critics, including Mr. Pita, warn against the use of “a politicised court as a weapon to destroy political parties”.

The European Union, the United States, the United Nations and human rights groups have blasted the court’s decision to disband Mr. Pita’s Move Forward Party (MFP), with the EU saying it harmed democratic openness in Thailand.

The remaining members of MFP launched a new movement on Friday (August 9, 2024), named “The People’s Party”, with the ambition of bringing change in the next national election, scheduled for 2027.

Thailand has suffered bouts of political instability for decades, undergoing a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.

A general view of Thailand Senate. (File photo used for representational purpose only.)
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Forty caretaker senators on May 17 petitioned Thailand’s Constitutional Court to dismiss Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin over a Cabinet appointment which they say breaches the constitution.

The senators object to the appointment of Pichit Chuenban, a former lawyer, as Minister to Mr. Srettha’s office last month during a Cabinet reshuffle.

Mr. Pichit was jailed for six months in 2008 for contempt of court after an alleged attempt to bribe court officials with two million baht ($55,218) [($1 = 36.2200 baht)] hidden in a paper grocery bag. His law licence was suspended for five years by the Lawyers Council of Thailand after the incident.

The senators said they were seeking a court ruling on whether Mr. Pichit has the integrity and ethical standards required by the constitution to hold a Ministerial position and whether Mr. Srettha had breached the law by making the appointment.

“Pichit is not qualified to be a Minister but the Prime Minister still nominated him for the position,” Senator Derekrid Janekrongtham told Reuters. “The Prime Minister’s action may therefore breach ethical standards as well,” he said.

Government critics say Mr. Pichit was appointed to the Cabinet due to his close relationship with a client, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned to Thailand last year after 15 years in exile. Mr. Thaksin still wields considerable political influence over the government.

Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke dismissed the senators’ accusation, and said the government had carefully vetted Mr. Pichit’s qualification. “Our legal team insists that the appointment is lawful and there is no problem with his qualification,” Mr. Chai told Reuters.

The 40 senators, whose term ended earlier this month but who remain as caretakers until a new selection process is completed in July, are part of an appointed Upper House of Parliament introduced by the military when it changed Thailand’s constitution after a 2014 coup.

Last year, the same senators closed ranks with military-backed parties to block the anti-establishment Move Forward party from forming a government.

Pita Limjaroenrat. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pita Limjaroenrat, whose reformist party won the most seats at Thailand’s national elections in May, resigned as its leader on September 15.

The young challenger led the Move Forward Party (MFP) to the top spot in the polls, capitalising on a swell of voters furious at a near-decade of junta-backed rule.

However, he was stopped becoming Prime Minister by entrenched conservative blocs in Parliament, and was later suspended as an MP.

The MFP left a coalition partnership with opposition rivals Pheu Thai, who went on to form a coalition government with pro-military parties and said they would go into opposition.

“I resigned as the MFP’s party leader to pave the way for an MP that is able to have a voice in Parliament, be the opposition leader,” Pita wrote on his official Facebook page. Under current rules, the Leader of the Opposition must be an MP.

“Due to my MP suspension, I won’t be able to get my MP position and be opposition leader in the near future,” Pita posted.

In July, he was suspended as an MP while waiting for the Constitutional Court’s ruling over his ownership of shares in a now-defunct media company. MPs are prohibited from owning media shares, under the Thai constitution. In the Facebook post, Pita said he would remain closely involved in the party.

“No matter what my role is, I will still be involved in MFP and will work closely with the people to my fullest capacity, so that we could achieve something together.”

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin reads the policy statement at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, on September 11, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Thailand’s new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin vowed to act quickly to relieve the country’s economic problems in his inaugural speech to Parliament on September 11, following four months of political uncertainty while parliamentarians were unable to agree on a government.

Mr. Srettha entered politics after a career as a major real estate developer, and his government is facing high expectations and pressing demands to address a range of economic, political, social and environmental problems in its four-year term.

Thailand’s economy has slumped after the COVID-19 pandemic all but crippled its lucrative tourism industry. Public debt rose to more than 60% of GDP in 2023, while household debt spiked to over 90% of the GDP this year, he said.

Thailand’s post-pandemic economy is like “a sick person,” with a sluggish recovery that puts the nation “at risk of entering a recession,” Srettha said.

He vowed to quickly take measures to relieve debt problems, mitigate rising energy costs and boost tourism, without going into detail.

He also said the government would work immediately to implement a campaign promise — a 10,000-baht ($280) handout for all Thais 16 and older to stimulate the economy by boosting short-term spending. Details were not given, though he’s previously said it would cost up to 560 billion baht ($15.8 billion) and will be ready to deliver by the first quarter of next year.

The promise drew major interest in the election campaign, but critics have questioned whether it would have a sustainable effect.

Long-term goals cited by Mr. Srettha include boosting international trade, supporting start-up businesses, investing more in transport infrastructure, improving agricultural production, empowering local government and increasing access to land ownership. The government would also seek to amend the current military-installed constitution through a process that allows public participation.

These steps would allow the economy to grow and its people to be able to “live with dignity,” he said.

The results of Thailand’s elections in May revealed a strong mandate for change after nearly a decade under military control.

But Parliament failed to endorse a coalition formed by the progressive Move Forward party, which won the most seats in the May polls, because members in the appointed and conservative Senate were alienated by its calls for minor reforms to the monarchy.

Mr. Srettha’s Pheu Thai party, which ran a close second in the election, then formed a broader coalition without Move Forward and was able to win Senate support. But it succeeded only by including pro-military parties and several parties that were part of the previous government, reneging on a campaign pledge not to do so. The deal raised skepticism over Pheu Thai’s ability to fulfill its election campaign promises while having to accommodate its allies that come from all along the political spectrum.

Reforms to the military — a powerful political player that has staged two coups since 2006 — were part of the platforms of both Move Forward and Pheu Thai, Srettha addressed the point diplomatically in his speech, promising “co-development” with the military to end mandatory conscription, reduce the excessive number of generals and ensure transparency in defense ministry procurement procedures. The ministry is headed by Pheu Thai’s Sutin Klangsang, one of the few civilians to hold the portfolio, usually controlled by veteran senior military officers.