Follow Thai politics in English — government policy, elections, parliament and political developments, with reporting and analysis from Thai PBS World.
Anti-government protests were held today by pro-democracy groups in Thailand’s northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Phitsanuloke and the northeastern province of Maha Sarakham. The protesters repeated their demands for the dissolution of Parliament, a new Constitution and an end to perceived harassment of political activists by officials. In Chiang Mai, the protesters rallied at
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong filed a court challenge on Friday against his disqualification from district polls, in a move which may have implications for this year’s removals of opposition candidates for the city’s legislature. Wong, 23, was the only candidate in district council elections last year to have
The upcoming Bangkok gubernatorial election looks set to be the next battleground between the self-proclaimed pro-democracy bloc and the coalition government camp. And it appears that the former faces a bigger challenge than the latter. Despite uncertainty over when the poll will take place, many political parties are actively getting their candidates ready. Local
Anti-government activists have threatened to hold a demonstration this evening, in front of Bang Khen police station in a suburb of Bangkok, to protest the arrests of three activists by police. The three have been identified as human rights activist Anont Nampa, Panupong Jaadnok, an activist allied with the Eastern Youth for Democracy, who protested
Thai human rights NGO iLaw and civil society networks, including People Go and the Constitution Advocacy Alliance, are to launch a signature-gathering campaign to push for the drafting of a People’s Constitution. iLaw manager Mr. Yingcheep Atchanont said the group will hold a press conference this afternoon, at the Faculty of Law of Thammasat
His Majesty the King has approved a new Cabinet ministers, as proposed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. The Royal Command, announcing the new appointees, was published in the Royal Gazette on Wednesday. The new Cabinet positions are: Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai is now also a Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Panmeechao is a Deputy Prime
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered a sweeping but unspecified ban on dealings with the Chinese owners of consumer apps TikTok and WeChat, although it remains unclear if he has the legal authority to actually ban the apps from the U.S. The twin executive orders — one for each app
Thailand’s Army Commander-in-Chief, General Apirat Kongsompong, told army cadets today that COVID-19 is curable, but “hating our own country is an incurable disease.” He made the remark after asking some of the cadets, on the occasion of the 133rd anniversary of the founding of the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy in Nakhon Nayok, whether they were
Calls for amendments to pave the way for a new charter are growing after anti-establishment protesters returned to the streets last month. This time around, pressure to change the current Constitution – written after the 2014 military coup and in force since April 2017 – appears stronger than before, with protesting students joined by netizens,
The Thai Government is supportive of attempts, by the House of Representatives, to amend the Constitution, and the Government will draft its own set of constitutional amendments for submission to Parliament, said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday. A cross party House panel has already been formed to draft a bill to amend Section 256
Senator Kamnoon Stthisamarn has questioned the necessity of the arrival of US troops in Thailand, for joint exercises with their Thai counterparts, despite objections from the CCSA. Writing in his Facebook post today, the Senator said that the latest extension of the state of emergency maintains the CCSA as the command centre for management of
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha assured today that he will not interfere with process of justice, but reiterated that all doubts surrounding the alleged mishandling, by public prosecutors and the police, of the Red Bull heir’s hit-and-run case must be cleared up. He said that he is waiting for a report from the independent fact-finding
