Follow Thai politics in English — government policy, elections, parliament and political developments, with reporting and analysis from Thai PBS World.
Soldier turned peace campaigner, General Ekkachai Srivilas was best remembered for his role as director of the Office for Peace and Governance at King Prajadhipok’s Institute (KPI). That was the final post he served before succumbing to cancer of the larynx (voice box), on Monday (Sep 12). He was 74. Affectionately nicknamed “Uncle Ek”, Ekkachai
The Constitutional Court has scheduled the issuance of a ruling on suspended Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s eight-year term in office on September 30th at 3 pm. According to the court’s press release today (Wednesday), the nine justices on the court considered the minutes of the 501st meeting of the Constitution Drafting Committee, dated September 11th,
Pro-democracy Ratsadon protest leader Parit Chiwarak, aka “Penguin”, and three other protesters were given two-month prison terms today (Monday), suspended for one year, by the Don Mueang District Court over their protest in front of Bang Khen police station on August 7th, 2020. The court also imposed a fine of 11,300 baht on each of
The Kla Party will ask the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) over the diversion of about 10 million baht, originally allocated for drainage and sewerage projects in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district, to the funding of outdoor seminars. The party’s secretary-general, Atavit Suwannapakdee, said yesterday (Sunday) that, since Chatuchak district has
It is rare for Thai politicians to voluntarily vacate their seats, not to mention a coveted ministerial post. But that was exactly what Deputy Interior Minister Nipon Boonyamanee did last Monday. A senior figure from the coalition Democrat Party, Nipon resigned to face trial in the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on a
Members of the For the National Party (Pheu Chart) elected a new 15-member executive committee yesterday (Saturday) with Pawitsarat Tiyapairat as the new party leader. Daughter of former House Speaker and member of the now defunct Thai Rak Thai party Yongyuth Tiyapairat, Pawitsarat told party members at an extraordinary meeting, in the conference room of
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said today (Friday) that he has his own style of working, which is to go directly to see the problems at first hand, to meet with the people to find out what their problems are and to try to solve them. His statement was, apparently, in response to recent criticism on
The Constitutional Court is scheduled to meet again on September 14th, to discuss the 8-year term in office of suspended Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, after it instructed the secretary-general of the House of Representatives to submit additional information by the end of next Tuesday. According to a press release from the Office of the Constitutional
Thailand’s Constitutional Court is poised to issue its ruling on the expiry date of suspended prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s eight-year tenure after a special meeting of the nine judges was called. The quick move came as a surprise to many observers, who had expected a longer process. Only days ago on August 24, the court
The hopes of non-governmental organisations to strip senators of the right to select the prime minister after the next election have been dashed, after parliament rejected their bill to amend Section 272 of the Constitution. The Bill, initiated by former election commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn and NGOs and seconded by more than 50,000 people, received 356
Suspended Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has insisted that his 8-year term in the job did not expire on August 24th, as posited by opposition parties, because his term should be counted from when the 2017 Constitution (B.E. 2560) came into force, on April 6th, 2017. In what is believed to be his written statement to
The Sarng Anakot Thai Party has appointed former Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak as its chairman, after he formally applied to become a party member last Friday and was given membership number 10021871, said Uttama Savanayana, the party’s leader, today (Wednesday). He added that Dr. Somkid will join a meeting of the party’s executive committee
