Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul to dissolve parliament by end of January
A general election will be held in March or early April
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday that he planned to dissolve parliament by the end of January, with a general election to be held in March or early April.
Anutin won a parliamentary vote in early September to become Thailand’s third prime minister since August 2023, after pulling his Bhumjaithai party out of a ruling coalition led by the Pheu Thai party.
To win power, he secured the backing of the largest grouping in parliament, the opposition People’s Party, which put forward a number of demands – including calling elections within four months of taking office – as part of a deal to support the Bhumjaithai leader.
The churn has been taking a toll on Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. Fitch Ratings on Wednesday revised Thailand’s outlook to “negative” from “stable”, citing increasing risks to public finances amid ongoing political uncertainty.