Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced that he is “returning power to the people” and moved to dissolve the parliament, paving the way for early elections in the country amid growing pressure as a military standoff with Cambodia worsens.
Anutin had submitted a request for the dissolution of parliament to the king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, local media said on Thursday.
The decree to dissolve the parliament was endorsed by the Thai king on Friday, the country’s official Royal Gazette announced.
As per the Thai constitution, elections must be held within 45 to 60 days after the parliament is dissolved.
Government officials on Friday also confirmed that the dissolution came after a dispute with the opposition People’s Party, the largest bloc in the legislature.
Defending the move, Government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat told an international media agency that “the opposition lawmakers had paralysed the government’s agenda,” necessitating the dissolution.
Also Read: Thai-Cambodia border clashes enter fourth day
The internal dispute comes in the midst of heavy border clashes between Thailand and the neighbouring Cambodia’s forces since the past four days, resulting in 20 deaths and more than 200 being injured.
The fighting is taking place across a dozen locations on the disputed border, say reports, even while Anutin insisted the dissolution of the parliament would not disrupt the country’s security operations, adding that military deployment along the border and reinforcements would continue uninterrupted.
Anutin’s tenure as the third prime minister of Thailand since August 2023, has been riddled with struggles to stabilise the economy amid pressure from high US tariffs.
He is said to have initially planned to dissolve the parliament by the end of January, and schedule elections in March or early April.
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