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Aidan Jones

Thailand’s rival parties held final rallies late on Friday in a last-ditch push to win over undecided voters among a public craving change but still deeply split over the remedy for years of ulcerous political and economic decline.
The People’s Party and Pheu Thai packed out their respective stadium venues in Bangkok on Friday, pumping music to encourage supporters as leaders delivered appeals for every last vote.
In contrast, the Bhumjaithai Party’s rally in a convention centre in the capital, where it traditionally lacks political pull, was more staid.
But its leaders were also in a bullish mood about their prospects on Sunday.
Ekniti Nitithanprapas, acting finance minister and Bhumjaithai prime ministerial candidate, told This Week in Asia that his party had the medicine Thailand’s ailing economy needed.
“We plan to upgrade Thailand’s competitiveness, upskill [and] reskill the Thai people. We will target new industries … agritech, smart agriculture … smart electronics [and] data centres, but need to upgrade to AI and cloud services for Thai people.”
In a veiled reference to Pheu Thai’s generous subsidy pledges, he said: “But we will not use populist policies.”

The reformist People’s Party is expected to win the most seats in Sunday’s ballot, with many of the 3 million first-time voters likely to endorse its plan to share stakes in the economy and power more equally.
But Bhumjaithai, the conservative party led by caretaker prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul – a construction oligarch, pilot and cannabis legalisation advocate – is running close behind and is forecast to find it easiest to form a coalition government.
He is backed by Thailand’s major political dynasties and is riding a nationalist wave over a border war with Cambodia.
Tracking in third for now is Pheu Thai, the once all-conquering political vehicle of Thaksin Shinawatra, who is in jail and whose family fortunes have faded in recent years, but could yet prove instrumental in government formation post-election.
Whoever wins will become Thailand’s fourth prime minister in three years in a politically combustible country where experts say the rules are rigged to ensure the arch-conservative establishment is never away from power for long.
They will also inherit a daunting in-tray.
Thailand, once Southeast Asia’s boom economy, is now falling behind its neighbours as two decades of instability compound a tough global economic climate and slumping competitiveness from manufacturing to tourism.
The economy is expected to grow by just 1.8 to 2.0 per cent this year, dragged down by sky-high household debt, sluggish property sales and global trade ructions.

Until the Covid-19 pandemic, Thailand had rebounded from turbulent politics to earn a “Teflon” reputation and keep its economy ticking over.
“We haven’t really gone back there,” Burin Adulwattana, chief economist of Kasikorn Research centre, told reporters late on Thursday.
Instead, at least in regional financial circles, “Thailand is becoming the forgotten man of Asia”, he added.
The public remains divided among lines that roughly cross young versus old, conservationists and reformists, those favouring stability best represented this election by Bhumjaithai, and those ready to roll the dice on the relatively untested People’s Party.
“Thai people want change, that is unanimous, but how much of a change?” Burin said. “We have two camps. One camp thinks the engine needs fine-tuning, perhaps new drivers, the other camp [thinks] that the engine is broken.”
Votes that count?
On Sunday, 500 lower house lawmakers will be elected by the roughly 53 million voters.
Four hundred of them will be directly elected through constituencies, with the remaining 100 allocated on a proportional basis relating to the vote share of each party.
The People’s Party will look for another clean sweep of Bangkok’s 33 seats and aim to hold onto as many of the seats that were once in the gift of “baan yai” political dynasties from Chonburi to Samut Prakan that it clinched at the last poll.

But most seats are up for grabs in the poor, populous north and northeast – about a third of constituency seats.
The People’s Party made significant gains there in 2023, rewriting the assumptions of Thai elections.
Those regions were once the unbreachable bastion of the Pheu Thai party of Thaksin, who remains the only elected prime minister to serve out a full term (2001-05).
But he was toppled in a 2006 coup, triggered two decades of chaos defined by court rulings that curtailed governments, banned parties and charged political figures including Thaksin and his sister Yingluck, who was prime minister before another 2014 coup.
The Shinawatra clan took a hit after Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn mishandled a border crisis that led to her being sacked by the courts as prime minister, clearing the way for Anutin to emerge on top.
His campaign has leaned heavily on nationalism since the conflict with Cambodia, and a state subsidy (half price) of meals out and other local spending that could pull in the votes among a hard-up Thai public.
Team Anutin also promises political stability and experienced administration of an economy in need of a new plan for growth.

On Sunday, voters also get to cast their ballot on whether they want a referendum to amend a military-written constitution which, among other complaints, critics say hardwires biased unelected bodies into political power.
Those bodies, from the Constitutional Court to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, have been instrumental in taking out elected governments deemed unfavourable to elite interests, including already dissolving two incarnations of the People’s Party in its short lifespan.
Voters are closely watching for any moves after the election – especially if the People’s Party gains a decisive mandate from the public.
“Only once in the last 26 years has the election been honoured,” said political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University.
“Since then we have had all kinds of monkey business, judicial interventions, two military coups and street protests. There are forces beyond the electoral arena that call the shots.”


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Thailand

As Thailand prepares to vote, can election deliver the change it needs?

Thailand’s caretaker prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Bhumjaithai Party leader and prime ministerial candidate, with his party’s supporters during an election rally in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 30. Photo: Reuters

A man walks behind political parties’ election campaign posters in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday. Photo: AP

People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut (third from right) takes a selfie with young supporters and fellow party members while campaigning ahead of the general election in Bangkok on January 25. Photo: AFP

Supporters surround Pheu Thai Party prime ministerial candidate Yodchanan Wongsawat during a campaign rally in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday. Photo: EPA

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva (centre) greets supporters during a campaign rally ahead of the general election, in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 27. Photo: Reuters

Thailand election: who are the PM contenders vying to lead the nation?

From left: Anutin Charnvirakul, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut and Yodchanan Wongsawat during an event in Bangkok on January 12. The three are among prime ministerial candidates in Thailand’s coming election. Photo: AFP

Leader of People’s Party and prime ministerial candidate Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut attends an election campaign in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday. Photo: AP

Thai caretaker prime minister and Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul campaigns for a general election at Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 20. Photo: EPA

Pheu Thai party prime ministerial candidate Yodchanan Wongsawat during an election campaign in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 23. Photo: AP

Democrat Party’s leader and prime ministerial candidate Abhisit Vejjajiva greets people during an election campaign in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 10. Photo: EPA

Thammanat Prompao (centre) talks to the media in 2019. Thammanat is among the prime ministerial candidates for Thailand’s coming election on February 8. Photo: EPA-EFE

As Thailand election looms, voters seek national reset to end decade of decline

Thailand’s prime minister and Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul (second from right) greets people at a market during an election campaign at Chinatown in Bangkok on January 20. Photo: AFP

Srettha Thavisin, then prime minister of Thailand, stands in front of an infographic depicting the landbridge to bypass the Malacca Strait in 2023. Photo: Facebook/Srettha Thavisin

A person buys food at a small bakery stall in a shopping centre in Bangkok. Economic growth for 2026 could be between 1.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent, according to Thailand’s central bank. Photo: EPA

Thai caretaker prime minister and Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul greets voters at a street food stall during an election campaign at Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 20. Photo: EPA

People take an escalator at Mo Chit skytrain station in Bangkok on Wednesday. Analysts say the “pandemonium” of Thailand’s lost years has severely damaged the economy and divided the Thai people. Photo: AFP

Former Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat with supporters during a general election campaign rally of the People’s Party in Bangkok on January 25. Photo: Reuters

Pheu Thai’s prime minister candidate Yodchanan Wongsawat raises his fist during an election campaign in Bangkok on January 23. Photo: AP

People’s Party supporters cheer during a campaign rally ahead of the general election, in Bangkok on January 25. Photo: AFP

Leader of People’s Party and prime minister candidate Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut attends an election campaign in Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday. Photo: AP

A street vendor waits for customers in Bangkok. Thailand goes to the polls on February 8 for yet another government. Photo: EPA

Thai comeback kid Pita urges ‘decisive’ People’s Party win to break establishment’s grip

Former party leader Pita Limjaroenrat speaks on stage during a People’s Party election campaign event in Bangkok on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Pita Limjaroenrat poses with supporters during a People’s Party campaign rally on Sunday ahead of Thailand’s general election. Photo: Reuters

A People’s Party supporter wears a headband depicting prime ministerial candidate Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut at a campaign rally on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Thailand’s election turns into a cash splash contest to win votes

Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of Thailand’s Democrat Party, greets a woman and her baby during an election campaign event in Bangkok on Saturday. Photo: EPA

A shopper walks past a “Sale” sign at a shopping centre in Bangkok on January 2. Photo: EPA

Shoppers buy food from a bakery at a shopping centre in Bangkok earlier this month. Photo: EPA

United Thai Nation Party leader Pirapan Salirathavibhaga (centre) and other party members attend the registration of constituency candidates in Bangkok last month. Photo: Reuters

Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidate Yodchanan Wongsawat (right) and former prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra sit together on stage during the party’s first major pre-election event in Bangkok last Thursday. Photo: AFP

Supporters of the People’s Party attend a general election campaign rally in Bangkok on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

Thailand’s caretaker prime minister and Bhumjaithai Party leader, Anutin Charnvirakul, greets a stallholder during an election campaign event in Bangkok on Sunday. Photo: EPA

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Whoever wins will become Thailand’s fourth prime minister in three years but face a daunting task to revive the economy and ease political gridlock


Whoever wins will become Thailand’s fourth prime minister in three years but face a daunting task to revive the economy and ease political gridlock.


As Thailand prepares to vote, can election deliver the change it needs?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Whoever wins will become Thailand’s fourth prime minister in three years but face a daunting task to revive the economy and ease political gridlock

Whoever wins will become Thailand’s fourth prime minister in three years but face a daunting task to revive the economy and ease political gridlock