For the first time in 12 years, Bangkokians will vote for a new city council, at an election expected in May. While this local election may be overshadowed by the upcoming…
Read MoreFor the first time in 12 years, Bangkokians will vote for a new city council, at an election expected in May. While this local election may be overshadowed by the upcoming…
Read MoreFormer Future Forward MP, and a key member of the Progressive Movement, Pannika Wanich, was indicted today (Friday) in the Criminal Court by public prosecutors for violating the Computer Crime…
Read MoreThe Supreme Administrative Court’s recent decision to retry the Hopewell case may help the government avoid paying a huge sum in compensation which has been dubbed the “price of stupidity”….
Read MoreWatana Muangsook has become the latest Thai political heavyweight to be jailed in a high-profile corruption case. On March 4, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders upheld…
Read MoreThe Thai Prime Minister’s advisor Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, recently in charge of the three-decade-long Hopewell saga, which is a case between the Thai government on one side and Hopewell (Thailand) on…
Read MoreBangkok Deputy Governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul has resigned, effective today (Monday), to prepare to run in the forthcoming Bangkok gubernatorial election as an independent candidate, tentatively scheduled for May. The Bangkok…
Read MoreAn elderly Thai man, who was hit in the head by a rubber bullet during an anti-government protest in Bangkok’s Din Daeng area on the night of August 15th last…
Read MoreThailand’s former Prime Minister Anand Panyarachun said that it is about time for the older generation of Thais to step aside and allow the new generation to take the helm…
Read MoreThailand’s Criminal Court sentenced a Facebook page administrator to two years in prison today (Friday), after finding him guilty of committing an act of lèse majesté, an offence in the…
Read MoreThe Bangkok South Criminal Court has rejected an application from a Thai student, currently facing a lèse majesté charge, seeking to be allowed to pursue her post-graduate studies in Germany…
Read MoreAt the 11th Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Thailand expressed grave concern over the worsening hostilities and violence in Ukraine. Dr. Suriya Chindawongse, Thailand’s Permanent…
Read MoreFor outspoken student activist Netiwit “Frank” Chotiphatphaisal, last week’s decision by Chulalongkorn University executives to remove him as its Student Government president was comparable to a coup. The decision was…
Read MoreAfter being held in Bangkok Remand Prison for more than 200 days, on lèse majesté and other protest-related charges, anti-establishment Ratsadon group leader Anon Nampa was granted three months of…
Read MoreA young man’s passion for craft beer has taken him to heights most Thais can only dream of – a seat in Parliament where he is now fighting to break…
Read MoreTonight (Friday), a joint session of Thailand’s Senate and House of Representatives passed the first reading of three draft bills related to political parties, proposed by the cabinet, governing coalition…
Read MoreAn LED billboard, featuring exiled Thai scholar Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pavin Chachavalpongpun, from the Centre for Southeast Asian Students at Kyoto University, who is a well-known monarchy critic, as the…
Read MoreThe Bangkok South Criminal Court granted temporary and conditional bail to anti-establishment Ratsadon protest leader Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak today (Thursday) after it received a certificate, issued by the dean of…
Read MoreThailand’s House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a long-awaited bill to criminalise torture and enforced disappearances in its final reading, with 359 votes in favour, one abstention and two…
Read MoreTen draft bills to amend election laws will be deliberated by Parliament this Thursday and Friday (Feb 24-25) – but most are expected to hit obstacles. The bills are designed…
Read MoreMembers of Thailand’s House and the Senate are scheduled to deliberate 10 draft bills attached to the electoral and political party acts today (Thursday) and tomorrow, as a key senator…
Read MoreThe Bangkok South Criminal Court rejected bail today (Wednesday) for two anti-establishment Ratsadon protest leaders, Anon Nampa and Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak. Yesterday, the Criminal Court granted them bail of 2,079,000…
Read MoreThailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has developed a plan to evacuate about 250 Thai nationals in Ukraine, in case an emergency situation develops. MFA Spokesperson Tanee Sangrat said that…
Read MoreMore than six years after he fled Thailand to live in exile in Australia, Pol Maj-General Paween Pongsirin is back under the media spotlight. His role as chief investigator of…
Read MoreFormer New Economics Party leader Mingkwan Saengsuwan shocked Parliament when he resigned as a party-list MP during the debate to scrutinize the Prayut government last week. Mingkwan explained that he…
Read MoreThe Ministry of Interior and the Office of the Election Commission are scheduled to meet today (Monday) to discuss the timing of Bangkok’s gubernatorial and city councillor and Pattaya City’s…
Read MoreBangkok governor elections used to be held once every four years until the 2014 coup saw national and local votes suspended. Now, expectations are rising ahead of the first gubernatorial…
Read MorePol Maj-Gen Paween Pongsirin, former deputy commissioner of the 8th Provincial Police Bureau, who led an investigation into a Rohingya human trafficking network over six years ago, said last night…
Read MoreAnticipating challenging decisions ahead, the four candidates running in the election for governor of Bangkok are strongly opposing the extension of concession for the core Skytrain sections of the Green…
Read MorePrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha stated clearly, during a parliamentary debate today (Friday), that he will not resign, after an opposition MP drafted a resignation letter on his behalf. “Yesterday, there…
Read MoreDuring the debate in parliament today (Friday), the Thai prime minister was accused by the opposition of renewing a goldmining concession in exchange for Australia-based Kingsgate Consolidated Limited withdrawing the…
Read MoreThaksin Shinawatra is trying to get back on stage, whereas Move Forward is struggling to stay on it. Will Prayut Chan-o-cha dissolve the House of Representatives and/or join a new…
Read MoreNew Economic party-list MP Mingkwan Saengsuwan tendered his resignation as a member of parliament in the middle of the general debate today (Thursday), saying that he has not felt happy…
Read MoreMove Forward MP Padipat Suntiphada accused the government today (Thursday) of covering up the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) since October 2019, as there was an official letter issued,…
Read MoreThe opposition Thai Liberal party leader, Pol Gen Seripisut Temiyavet, said today that the government has completely failed in political reform, lacks the sincerity needed to lead political reform, and…
Read MoreOpposition and Pheu Thai party leader Chonlanan Srikaew accused Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha today (Thursday) of being the root cause of all the pressing problems now facing Thailand, ranging from…
Read MoreAfter campaigning vigorously for reform of the Thai monarchy, activist Chonthicha “Lookkate” Jangrew is now setting her sights on entering politics and becoming an MP. Introduced last Saturday as an…
Read MoreThailand’s Public Health Minister and Bhumjaithai Party Leader Anutin Charnvirakul maintained today (Tuesday) that Ekkarat Changlao and his son Wattana, both former MPs of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party and…
Read MoreThe collapse of Parliament meetings due to withdrawal by MPs is becoming more frequent this year, with three House sessions abandoned in January and three more in the first 10…
Read MoreA demonstration, led by political activist, Brahmasara “Fah” Viradhammajari and his partner Titat “Peter” Kuantrakul, was held at the CAT Telecom building in Bangkok today (Monday), when they intended to…
Read MoreThree years after accepting Palang Pracharath’s invitation to stand as its candidate for prime minister, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha faces a stark choice: Remain with the ruling party and risk political…
Read MoreTwo anti-establishment leaders have been granted bail while awaiting their trials on lèse majesté and other protest-related charges. One was released yesterday (Thursday) evening, and the other is expected to…
Read MoreThe collapse of three Thai House of Representatives meetings this month alone, due to the lack of a quorum, has drawn widespread criticism for allegedly improper conduct by dissident MPs,…
Read MoreThailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul insists that his Bhumjaithai party’s relationship with the government remains good and problem-free, despite their differences over the extension of the concession contract for…
Read MoreSeveral Thai Economic Party MPs, led by former Palang Pracharath party secretary-generalThamanat Prompow, voted with the Opposition in supporting the draft liquor bill, aimed at breaking the domestic liquor oligopoly,…
Read MoreWhen future historians deal with political “colors” in Thailand, the first thing they will probably need to do is acquaint themselves with words like “Burgundy”, or “Carmine”, or “Amaranth”, or…
Read MoreOnce a red-shirt leader dubbed “Isan Rambo”, Seksakol Atthawong has made yet another political pivot, leaving the ruling Palang Pracharath to join a new party aiming to secure Prime Minister…
Read MoreThai opposition Move Forward party’s draft bill on same-sex marriage was dealt a blow today (Wednesday) when the House of Representatives voted to send it for vetting by the cabinet…
Read MorePrime Minister’s Office Vice Minister Seksakol Atthawong said today (Wednesday) his new Ruamthai Sarngchart party can also accommodate Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, because he does not trust the politicians in…
Read MoreThe House of Representatives today (Wednesday) decided to forward a “progressive” liquor draft bill, which seeks to break the oligopoly in liquor production in Thailand and allow new producers to enjoy…
Read MoreThe cabinet has put on hold the Interior Ministry’s proposed 30-year extension of the concession contract of the BTS Skytrain Green Line system, between the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the…
Read MoreThe Democrat Party has suffered a setback as its former legal team chief and veteran politician, Tawil Praisont, quits to join the opposition Move Forward Party. Democrat Party’s Spokesman Ramet…
Read MoreVice Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office Seksakol Atthawong, alias “Rambo Isan”, has quit the ruling Palang Pracharat party, reportedly to join the Ruamthai Sarngchart party. The outspoken vice minister, formerly…
Read MoreThailand’s self-proclaimed pro-democracy movement has experienced another crack in their ranks, after key Pheu Thai supporter “Kam Phaka” referred to Move Forward Party’s supporters as “Salim Phase 2”. Salim is…
Read MoreSenator Kamnoon Sidhisamarn has voiced full support for a recommendation, from his colleague Somchai Sawaengkarn, to deal with MPs refusing to declare their presence in parliament, causing two House meetings…
Read MoreChina has offered two used Song-class submarines to the Royal Thai Navy (RTN), but they need to be reconditioned before they can become operable, according to the RTN. A Chinese…
Read MoreThailand’s former Deputy Attorney-General Nate Naksuk is asking society for a chance to prove that he can still be of value to the country by applying for a seat on…
Read MorePropelled in part by the wildly contagious omicron variant, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 900,000 on Friday, less than two months after eclipsing 800,000. The two-year total, as…
Read MorePrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told MPs on both sides of the house today (Friday) that, if they want a general election, they must cooperate with one another by attending parliamentary…
Read MoreFormer Democrat MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thepthai Senpong, has come to the defence of Dr. Suchatvee Suwansawat, the Democrat party’s Bangkok gubernatorial candidate, after the House committee on prevention…
Read MorePrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said today (Thursday) that he will not dissolve the House or reshuffle his cabinet, but will carry on working and is ready to face the Opposition…
Read MoreThe dates for a new general parliamentary debate, a chance to grill the government over its alleged failures, has been scheduled for February 17th and 18th , with the Opposition’s expectations that it…
Read MoreBangkok will have 3 more constituency seats than it had at the last general election and still has more seats than any other province. Trat, Ranong, Samut Songkhram and Sing…
Read MoreThailand’s cabinet today (Tuesday) approved, in principle, P-move activists and civic groups’ 15-point demand for mechanisms to ensure the basic rights of ethnic minorities to land settlement, community land title…
Read MoreThe Thai cabinet acknowledged today (Tuesday) the Interior Ministry’s plan to hold the elections for Bangkok’s governor, city and district councillors in May, according to Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam….
Read MorePredictions of defeat for the ruling Palang Pracharath Party were being made several days before last Sunday’s Constituency 9 by-election in Bangkok, but few analysts expected such a devastating loss….
Read MoreIt was a peculiar electoral outcome that “winners” may celebrate cautiously and some “losers” can find encouraging. Ballots cast in Bangkok’s Laksi and Chatuchak districts on Sunday show that races…
Read MoreInterior Minister Gen Anupong Phaochinda today hinted at the possibility that the long-awaited Bangkok governor election could be held in May this year. He said an election for the mayor…
Read MorePheu Thai party leader Chonlanan Srikaew is urging Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to dissolve parliament and to hold a snap election, noting that the defeat of the ruling Palang Pracharat…
Read MorePheu Thai Party’s candidate Surachart Thienthong has claimed victory in Bangkok’s Constituency 9 by-election in what is seen as a blow to the ruling Palang Pracharat Party which dominated the…
Read MorePalang Pracharat party candidate in the Bangkok Constituency 9 by-election, Saranrat Jenjaka, and her husband, former MP Sira, conceded defeat after ballots of half of the 280 polling units had…
Read MoreHouse Speaker Chuan Leekpai wants the scheduled parliamentary meetings this Wednesday and Friday to go ahead, despite 12 MPs and 13 parliamentary officials having COVID-19, because “the House must be…
Read MoreThe electorate in Bangkok’s Constituency 9 began voting at 8am this morning (Sunday), under the watchful eyes of some 800 police, election officials and representatives of political parties contesting the…
Read MoreThe former secretary-general of the ruling Palang Pracharat party, Thamanat Prompow, and 17 other of the party’s former MPs have applied to join the Setthakit Thai (Thai Economic) party. In…
Read MoreThe by-election in Bangkok’s Constituency 9 this Sunday is likely to be a close contest between three of the eight candidates vying for the vacant parliamentary seat. The frontrunners are…
Read MoreDeputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, in his capacity as leader of the ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP), has signed an order appointing Santi Promphat, a deputy leader, as the party’s…
Read MoreThe opposition Move Forward Party has finally come up with a candidate for the Bangkok gubernatorial election expected in the next few months. For many party supporters, Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn is…
Read MoreA group of activists campaigning for a better quality of life, about 30 of whom are former victims of road accidents, gathered in front of Government House today (Wednesday) to…
Read MoreDeputy Prime Minister and leader of Thailand’s ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP), Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, said today (Tuesday) the group of 21 sacked MPS led by former party secretary-general Thammanat…
Read MoreSarng Anacot Thai Party, the new political party launched last week by former economic ministers in the current government, lacks the magnetic pull to win the hearts of people, say…
Read MoreThailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam offered an assurance today (Monday) that the government is not dragging its feet over election-related organic bills and may open an extraordinary parliamentary session,…
Read MoreP-move demonstrators, who have been camping in front of the United Nations building on Ratchadamnoen Road for the past five days, resumed their protest march towards Government House this morning…
Read MoreThamanat Prompow’s ouster from the ruling Palang Pracharath Party last week for “causing serious division” was only the latest twist in this political dealmaker’s rollercoaster career. Palang Pracharath’s surprising and…
Read MoreThailand’s Move Forward party, the reincarnation of the dissolved Future Forward party, has decided to field party-list MP Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn as its candidate to contest the Bangkok gubernatorial election this…
Read MoreMaverick political activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana has decided to leave Thailand’s ruling Palang Pracharat party, effective Monday, claiming that doing so will give him more freedom to check the performance of…
Read MorePrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha begins a visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, to strengthen bilateral relations with one of the Middle East’s most important players, according to a high level…
Read MoreSomsak Phankasem, of Nakhon Ratchasima, one of the group of MPs loyal to former Palang Pracharat secretary-general Thammanat Prompao expelled from the ruling party on Thursday, has petitioned party leader…
Read MorePalang Pracharath Party’s move to expel secretary-general Thammanat Prompao and 20 other MPs under his control is more of a political soap opera than an actual split, analysts say. It’s…
Read MoreThe Criminal Court today (Friday) revoked the bail granted to six members of the anti-establishment Talu Fah activist group three days earlier, after it came to light that they allegedly…
Read MorePrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha played an old hit song, “Ya Yom Pae” (Never Give Up) by singer Sunisa “Aom” Sukboonsang, to his colleagues in the middle of a meeting of…
Read MoreThai opposition parties, led by Pheu Thai, submitted a motion today (Friday), signed up by 173 MPs, to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai seeking a general debate against the government under…
Read MoreIn a video, posted on Facebook Thursday night, MP Thamanat Prompow claimed that an alternative political party is ready, but that he is not yet giving details. “This new home…
Read MoreThailand’s ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) has decided to expel its controversial secretary-general, Thammanat Prompao, and 20 MPs loyal to him because they made a demand which the party found…
Read MoreThe first meeting this year of the House of Representatives suffered a setback yesterday (Wednesday) when it was abruptly adjourned due to the lack of a quorum. The meeting began…
Read MoreThe ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) sacked its controversial secretary-general,Thamanat Prompow, and 20 other MPs loyal to him on Wednesday, further threatening the stability of the party formed just a…
Read MoreGovernment chief whip Nirote Sunthornlekha has played down reported friction between Thailand’s Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin and Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) Secretary-General Thammanat Prompao over a recent Line group chat…
Read MoreThai opposition parties announced today (Wednesday) that they will submit a motion to the House Speaker this Friday or next Monday to seek a general debate against the government over…
Read MoreFormer leading members of the ruling Palang Pracharat Party have formed a new political party, Sarng Anakot Thai party, vowing not to nominate Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as the party’s prime…
Read MoreExiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has claimed that there are 4 or 5 major pork merchants who have cold storage facilities in Thailand, each with the capacity to store…
Read MoreLast Sunday’s by-elections in the southern provinces of Songkhla and Chumphon saw fierce battles between the ruling Palang Pracharath and Democrat Party coalition partners. Victory went to the Democrats, who…
Read More