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 former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, left, and his daughter and former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, right, arrive at Supreme Court in Bangkok, Thailand, on September 9, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

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.

Former leader of Move Forward Party, Pita Limjaroenrat, center, shakes hands with his supporters at Move Forward Party headquarters in Bangkok.
| Photo Credit: AP

Thailand’s most popular politician, Pita Limjaroenrat, was banned from politics for 10 years and his party dissolved on Wednesday over his attempt to reform the kingdom’s archaic royal defamation laws. The country has been mired in cyclical political crises since a military coup in 2006.

The Constitutional Court said it voted unanimously to dissolve the party because its campaign proposal to amend the law amounted to an attempt to overthrow the nation’s constitutional monarchy.

The Move Forward Party was unable to form a government after topping the polls because members of the Senate, at that time a conservative military-appointed body, refused to endorse its candidate for prime minister.

Here is a look at the turbulent two decades that led to the pivotal decision by the Constitutional Court.

Thailand’s former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was formally indicted on Tuesday on a charge of defaming Thailand’s monarchy in one of several court cases that have unsteadied Thai politics.

Mr. Thaksin, an influential political figure despite being ousted from power 18 years ago, reported himself to prosecutors just before 9 a.m. and the indictment process has been completed, Prayuth Bejraguna, a spokesperson for the Office of the Attorney General, said at a press conference.

A car believed to be carrying Mr. Thaksin arrived at the criminal court in Bangkok but he did not come out to meet reporters, and it is unclear whether he went to the court or the nearby prosecutors’ office.

His lawyer Winyat Chatmontree told reporters that Mr. Thaksin was ready to enter the judicial process and that he has prepared a request for his release on bail.

The law on defaming the monarchy, an offense known as lese majeste, is punishable by three to 15 years in prison. It is among the harshest such laws globally and increasing has been used in Thailand to punish government critics.

Thailand’s attorney-general will indict former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for allegedly insulting the monarchy, an official said on Wednesday, in a setback to a political heavyweight whose loyalists are currently in government. 

The complaint, lodged by the royalist military that ousted the government of his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, had stemmed from an interview the influential tycoon gave to foreign media in 2015. Other charges include violating a computer crime law.

“The attorney-general has decided to indict Thaksin on all charges,” spokesperson Prayuth Bejraguna said, adding he must appear in court on June 18.

Thaksin, 74, denies wrongdoing and has repeatedly pledged loyalty to the crown, criticism of which is forbidden under Thailand’s lese-majeste law, one of the world’s strictest of its kind.

Thaksin would be the highest-profile case among more than 270 prosecutions in recent years under the controversial law, which carries a maximum jail term of 15 years for each perceived insult of the royal family. 

Thaksin did not appear at Wednesday’s hearing, having been infected with COVID-19.

His lawyer, Winyat Chartmontri, said a comprehensive defence had been prepared and Thaksin would seek bail. He questioned the authenticity of the video of the interview in which the alleged insult was made.

“Thaksin Shinawatra is ready to prove his innocence in the justice system,” Winyat told a press conference.

Central Figure

Thaksin founded the populist Pheu Thai party. His family’s parties have won all but one election since 2001, with three Shinawatra governments toppled by coups or court rulings. 

The billionaire returned to Thailand in 2023 from 15 years of self-imposed exile, during which he remained a central figure throughout repeated bouts of political upheaval.

He was convicted of abuse of power and conflicts of interest and sentenced to eight years in prison, later commuted to one year by the king. He was released on parole in February after just six months in detention.

Pheu Thai leads the current government, with Thaksin’s business ally Srettha Thavisin the prime minister and daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra the party chief. 

The indictment was announced days after an opposition lawmaker and an activist musician were given jail terms for alleged royal insults. The palace typically does not comment on the law.

The popular opposition Move Forward Party has found itself in hot water over its campaign to amend the law, with the Constitutional Court due to decide whether to dissolve the party, which would see bans for its leadership. 

A separate complaint with another body is seeking life bans for 44 current and former Move Forward legislators.

Thaksin’s smooth return and relatively short time in detention, spent in hospital, has fueled speculation he struck a deal with his rivals in the conservative establishment and military, which he has blamed for trying to stifle Shinawatra governments. His allies have denied any such pact. 

Thaksin has been active since his release, meeting supporters and politicians, while saying he has retired from politics. Commentators have anticipated he will wield significant political influence from behind the scenes, raising the possibility of another confrontation with the establishment.

Political analyst Titipol Phakdeewanich said the indictment could be an attempt by authorities to show balance, in light of royal insults cases against activists and Move Forward, but that recent developments indicated Thaksin “will still be able to weather this”.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University said the indictment could be a warning to Thaksin to stay in line.

“Now his adversaries see this as ‘Thaksin’s back’, he’s fully back in Thai politics, and maybe he crossed the line,” he said. “If he doesn’t shut up and doesn’t stop maneuvering and politicking, if they continue to see him as an enlarging, intensifying threat, then the charges will make their way through the court system.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Thailand’s former PM Thaksin Shinawatra arrives at Don Muang airport in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 22, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Thailand’s jailed former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra had his prison sentence cut from eight years to one by the King on Friday, just days after he returned from a decade and a half in exile.

The move came a day after the billionaire ex-Prime Minister, 74, applied for a royal pardon over graft and abuse of office convictions amid widespread speculation about a backroom deal to allow him clemency.

Mr. Thaksin, twice elected Prime Minister and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was sent to prison last week immediately after returning to the kingdom for the first time since 2008.

The partial pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn was confirmed by the official Royal Gazette, with the announcement pointing to his service to the country as prime minister.

“He is loyal to the institution of monarchy. When prosecuted, he respected the justice system,” the statement said, noting that Mr. Thaksin also suffers numerous health problems.

“His Majesty the King has granted him amnesty and reduced the sentence on Thaksin Shinawatra, the prisoner, to one year in prison, so that he could use his expertise and experience to develop the country further.”

His homecoming on Tuesday last week coincided with his Pheu Thai party returning to government in alliance with pro-military parties, leading many to conclude that an agreement had been struck to cut his jail time.

“I congratulate Thaksin’s family for the news,” new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, of Pheu Thai, told reporters.

“His family must be happy. I heard he suffers from high blood pressure. They must be at ease.”

Former telecoms tycoon and Manchester City owner Mr. Thaksin is one of the most influential but divisive figures in modern Thai history.

Loved by millions of rural Thais for his populist policies in the early 2000s, he has long been reviled by the country’s royalist and pro-military establishment.

Much of Thai politics over the last two decades has been coloured by the establishment’s efforts to keep Mr. Thaksin and his allies out of power.

His supporters gave him a hero’s welcome on landing in Bangkok and his first public act was to prostrate himself in homage before a portrait of the king at the airport.

Hours later Mr. Thavisin was confirmed as Prime Minister — the party’s first premier since Mr. Thaksin’s sister Yingluck was thrown out in a coup in 2014.

On his first night back in Thailand, Mr. Thaksin was moved from jail to a police hospital, with prison medical officers saying he needed close monitoring for various health problems, including heart trouble.

Parties linked to Mr. Thaksin dominated every Thai election since 2001 — until this year, when the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats.

But the new coalition government has shut MFP out while bringing in parties linked to the coup-maker generals who ousted Thaksin and Yingluck, leading to anger from many Thais.

Bangkok:

Thailand’s jailed former premier Thaksin Shinawatra had his prison sentence cut from eight years to one by the king on Friday, just days after he returned from a decade and a half in exile.

The move came a day after the billionaire ex-prime minister, 74, applied for a royal pardon over graft and abuse of office convictions amid widespread speculation about a backroom deal to allow him clemency.

Thaksin, twice elected PM and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was sent to prison last week immediately after returning to the kingdom for the first time since 2008.

The partial pardon from King Maha Vajiralongkorn was confirmed by the official Royal Gazette, with the announcement pointing to his service to the country as prime minister.

“He is loyal to the institution of monarchy. When prosecuted, he respected the justice system,” the statement said, noting that Thaksin also suffers numerous health problems.

“His Majesty the King has granted him amnesty and reduced the sentence on Thaksin Shinawatra, the prisoner, to one year in prison, so that he could use his expertise and experience to develop the country further.”

His homecoming on Tuesday last week coincided with his Pheu Thai party returning to government in alliance with pro-military parties, leading many to conclude that an agreement had been struck to cut his jail time.

“I congratulate Thaksin’s family for the news,” new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, of Pheu Thai, told reporters.

“His family must be happy. I heard he suffers from high blood pressure. They must be at ease.”

Divisive figure

Former telecoms tycoon and Manchester City owner Thaksin is one of the most influential but divisive figures in modern Thai history.

Loved by millions of rural Thais for his populist policies in the early 2000s, he has long been reviled by the country’s royalist and pro-military establishment.

Much of Thai politics over the last two decades has been coloured by the establishment’s efforts to keep Thaksin and his allies out of power.

His supporters gave him a hero’s welcome on landing in Bangkok and his first public act was to prostrate himself in homage before a portrait of the king at the airport.

Hours later Thavisin was confirmed as prime minister — the party’s first premier since Thaksin’s sister Yingluck was thrown out in a coup in 2014.

On his first night back in Thailand, Thaksin was moved from jail to a police hospital, with prison medical officers saying he needed close monitoring for various health problems, including heart trouble.

Parties linked to Thaksin dominated every Thai election since 2001 — until this year, when the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats.

But the new coalition government has shut MFP out while bringing in parties linked to the coup-maker generals who ousted Thaksin and Yingluck, leading to anger from many Thais.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. File
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who recently returned from exile and began serving an eight-year prison term, has requested a royal pardon, a senior member of the outgoing Cabinet said Thursday. Mr. Thaksin was moved from prison to a state hospital soon after his return last week for reported ill health.

Wissanu Krea-ngam, who is acting justice minister as well as a deputy prime minister, said he has received a letter from Mr. Thaksin requesting a pardon, but declined to say how long it would take to be approved.

“The process of approval entirely depends on his royal grace,” he said. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, giving King Maha Vajiralongkorn the final word on pardons of convicted criminals.

Mr. Thaksin, by promoting populist policies and using the fortune he made in telecommunications to build his own political party, was elected prime minister in 2001 and easily reelected in 2005. He was ousted in a military coup in 2006 and accused of corruption, abuse of power and disrespecting the monarchy.

He returned last week after 15 years of self-imposed exile and was immediately sent to Bangkok’s main prison because of several criminal convictions he has decried as politically motivated.

Hours after Mr. Thaksin’s return, Srettha Thavisin of the Pheu Thai party won enough votes in Parliament to become prime minister, ending more than three months of uncertainty after May’s general election. Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties affiliated with Mr. Thaksin.

To achieve a parliamentary majority, Srettha formed a coalition with pro-military parties linked to a 2014 coup that ousted a Pheu Thai government formed by Mr. Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra. Pheu Thai had vowed during the May election campaign that it would not join with any pro-military party in forming a government. It also excluded the progressive Move Forward Party, which won the most seats and votes in the polls.

It is widely believed that Mr. Thaksin returned out of hope that a new government friendly to him would reduce his sentence and that he may have made a deal with authorities, although he has said his decision had nothing to do with the Pheu Thai party’s bid for power.

Srettha told reporters on Thursday that he expects to submit a list of his new Cabinet ministers for royal endorsement on Friday.

There is growing criticism that Mr. Thaksin has received special treatment compared to other inmates, including not having to get a prison-style haircut. He was also transferred to a hospital just hours after being taken to prison, a move which officials attributed to several health problems. His daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a key Pheu Thai member, said he is suffering from fatigue and stress, including complications from contracting the coronavirus in 2020.

Mr. Thaksin, 74, a police lieutenant colonel before becoming a businessman, is being treated in a private room at the state-run Police General Hospital, where the director said he was in serious condition with heart and lung problems.

His swift transfer has prompted calls for proof that he is genuinely sick. A group of conservative political activists went to the hospital last week demanding that it release information about his condition and treatment.

Wissanu said Mr. Thaksin’s health condition could support his case for a pardon.