Showing 1 - 10 of 14
Defections test government pact
Oped, Aekarach Sattaburuth and Mongkol Bangprapa, Published on 18/09/2025
» About 50 national and local politicians from the southern province of Chumphon on Wednesday defected from the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) to the Bhumjaithai Party (BJP), raising questions about whether the ruling party can still honour its agreement not to form a majority government.
More charter change delay
Oped, Editorial, Published on 27/03/2025
» A joint parliamentary decision to seek a legal ruling on whether politicians can form a charter drafting panel to make wholesale amendments without the need for a referendum means the process returns to square one.
Deja vu as charter court weighs MFP ban
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 12/01/2024
» It is déjà vu in Thai politics this month as Thailand's biggest elected political party and its leader face Constitutional Court verdicts that could lead to a familiar dissolution and ban. At issue is the political future of Pita Limjaroenrat and the fate of the Move Forward Party (MFP), which he led to a stunning victory at the election last May. However the verdicts come out, they might be perceived by pundits as decided by the political winds of the day.
Thailand's semi-democracy faces risks
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 15/12/2023
» The government of Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin has settled into an uneasy balance between the civilian-led majority forces that represent the Thai electorate and the royalist-conservative minority guardians of the established centres anchored around the monarchy, military, judiciary, and bureaucracy.
Revisiting Prayut govt's farm policies
Oped, Nipon Poapongsakorn, Published on 12/10/2023
» This article aims to appraise part of the farm policies that the Prayut Chan-o-cha government implemented from July 2019-July 2022.
Consider the people's will
Oped, Editorial, Published on 27/07/2023
» Over two months after the May 14 general election, Thailand is yet to have a new government as parliamentary voting for a prime minister has hit a deadlock.
Post-poll lull has a lot to answer for
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 26/05/2023
» After a clear election victory, Thailand should already have a new government in office by now with Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister, as his Move Forward Party (MFP) together with opposition ally Pheu Thai Party won a clear mandate of more than 58% of 500 lower house seats. Yet their coalition government in waiting among eight parties with 313 elected representatives is facing several critical roadblocks, including the military-appointed senate and the Election Commission (EC). Public pressure is now needed to be piled on these powerful but biased bodies that were appointed during the coup-dominated era in 2014–2019 to comply with the people's wishes, as expressed at the polls on May 14.
MFP victory one for the history books
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 20/05/2023
» The phenomenal victory of the Move Forward Party (MFP) has stunned its political opponents.
The fault line that polarises Thai politics
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 07/04/2023
» With all of Thailand's contesting political parties lined up behind populist policy platforms ahead of the general election on May 14, it is not readily obvious what sets them apart.
Stakes and meanings of the 2023 poll
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 17/03/2023
» For all intents and purposes, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will not call an early election and will practically use up the full four-year term before dissolving the Lower House. Calling an early poll is often a sign of confidence and stability while putting it off to the last minute can be seen as timid and desperate. Nevertheless, the good news is that Thailand will have an election soon. The broader stakes and meanings of the upcoming poll are as follows.