Polling stations opened across Thailand on Sunday in a closely contested general election that pits progressive reformists against military-aligned conservatives, amid years of political churn that have seen three prime ministers in as many years.
Voting began at 8am local time and is scheduled to end at 5pm, with results expected later in the evening.
More than 50 parties are contesting the election, but analysts say only three — the People’s Party, Bhumjaithai, and Pheu Thai — possess the nationwide reach and voter base needed to mount a credible bid for power.
All 500 seats in the House of Representatives are at stake. With opinion polls indicating that no single party is likely to secure an outright majority, coalition talks are widely expected once ballots are counted.
The next prime minister will be chosen by a simple majority of elected lawmakers.
The People’s Party, led by Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, is projected to emerge as the largest bloc in parliament. Its platform calls for sweeping reforms, including curbing the influence of the military and judiciary and dismantling powerful economic monopolies.
However, those proposals have alarmed rival parties, raising the prospect that they could band together to block the People’s Party from forming a government.
The party is the successor to the Move Forward Party, which topped the polls in 2023 but was prevented from taking office by a military-appointed Senate and later dissolved by the Constitutional Court over its stance on reforming Thailand’s strict royal defamation laws.
Bhumjaithai, led by caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, is viewed as the main standard-bearer for the royalist-military establishment.
Anutin assumed the premiership last September after the removal of former prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over an ethics ruling linked to her handling of relations with Cambodia.
Facing a looming no-confidence vote, Anutin dissolved parliament in December and called a snap election. His campaign has focused on economic stimulus and national security, drawing on nationalist sentiment heightened by recent deadly clashes along the Cambodian border.
Pheu Thai, the third major contender, is the latest iteration of political movements associated with jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The party has leaned heavily on populist economic policies reminiscent of Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai era, which dominated politics from 2001 until it was ousted by a military coup in 2006.
Campaigning on promises of economic recovery and cash handouts, Pheu Thai has nominated Thaksin’s nephew, Yodchanan Wongsawat, as its candidate for prime minister.
Alongside the parliamentary vote, voters are also being asked to weigh in on a referendum on whether to replace the 2017 constitution drafted under military rule.
Pro-democracy groups argue a new charter is essential to reducing the power of unelected bodies, while conservative factions warn that constitutional change could destabilise the country.
According to the Election Commission, around 53 million people are eligible to vote, with more than 2.2 million already having cast ballots during an advance voting period that began on February 1.
