December 15, 2025, 2:26 p.mDecember 15, 2025, 2:26 p.m
Amid the renewed border conflict with neighboring Cambodia, Thailand has announced new elections for February. New members of Parliament will be elected on February 8, 2026, the Thai Election Commission said on Monday.
The parties are now called upon to name their candidates for the office of head of government by the end of the year.
On Friday, December 12th, the current head of government initiated the dissolution of parliament. Image: EPA
Thailand’s head of government Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved the lower house in a decree on Friday and thus initiated new elections. Under Thai law, these must be held 45 to 60 days after the dissolution of Parliament.
The right-wing construction magnate Anutin was only elected head of government in September after his predecessor Paetongtarn Shinawatra was removed from office by the Constitutional Court. The largest opposition force, the People’s Party, backed Anutin and his conservative Bhumjaithai Party. However, she made her support conditional on parliament being dissolved within four months and new elections taking place.
Just a few days earlier, there were renewed clashes on the border between Thailand and Cambodia.Image: keystone
The announcement of the new election came a few days after Thailand’s border conflict with Cambodia flared up again: a dispute over the demarcation of the border in the so-called Emerald Triangle, where the Thai province of Surin and the Cambodian province of Oddar Meanchey as well as Laos border each other, has been simmering for decades.
It was only at the end of October that the two Southeast Asian neighboring countries signed an agreement, brokered by the USA, that was intended to secure long-term peace. However, Thailand suspended implementation of the peace agreement almost a month ago. (sda/afp)