Follow Thai politics in English — government policy, elections, parliament and political developments, with reporting and analysis from Thai PBS World.
Former Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyaphirom was given an additional six years in prison, on top of the 42 years imposed by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Offices, after a panel of nine Supreme Court judges upheld the Court’s conviction of him and 14 other co-defendants. The reading of the final verdict
The Prachatham Thai party, one of the 10 smaller parties in the government’s group, has announced its break from the coalition after it failed to get the chairman’s seat on one the 35 House committees. Prachatham Thai party leader and a party-list MP Pichet Sathirachavan said today (Friday) that it was pointless for his party
A former member of Thailand’s Election Commission, Mr. Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, today (Saturday) posted on his Facebook part of a memoir he wrote in the EC journal about an incident five years ago. It relates to when the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was seeking approval from the EC to borrow about 20 billion baht,
A group of Democrat MPs has submitted a motion to the House of Representatives calling for the establishment of an extraordinary House committee to study problems with the 2017 Constitution and ways in which it could be amended to make the supreme law less rigid and open to further amendment. Mr. Thepthai Senpong, an MP
The Democrat and Future Forward parties have separately demanded that the House set up an ad hoc committee to assess the impacts of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) projects on the environment, society and economy of the eastern seaboard. Two separate motions on the same issue, by the two rival parties, were raised for debate
Five red-shirt members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), charged with firing six M79 grenades into the protest site of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee near the government complex in Chaengwattana five years ago, were today (Thursday) acquitted by the Criminal Court due to insufficient evidence. The PDRC held prolonged mass protests
A former national human rights commissioner has urged the Thai parliament to ratify the United Nations’ Convention against Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance after the now defunct National Legislative Assembly (NLA) failed to endorse the bill. Writing on her Facebook page today, in the wake of the Department of Special Investigation’s breakthrough in the investigation into
HONG KONG (Agencies) — Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on Wednesday she will formally withdraw the contentious extradition bill which sparked months of protests. “The government will formally withdraw the bill in order to fully allay public concerns,” she said in a pre-recorded address. Mrs Lam said a motion to withdraw will be
Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has been dealt yet another blow with the Constitutional Court rejecting his plea to rescind an earlier court’s order suspending him from performing his duties as an MP. According to the Constitutional Court’s bulletin, released today (Wednesday), the court had not found any change in behavior on the part
Former media tycoon, and ex-boss of the Manager media group Sondhi Limthongkul was today released from prison after spending three years and one month behind bars after being convicted on charges of violating securities and stock market laws. Corrections Department director-general Pol Col Narach Sawettanan said today (Wednesday) that Mr. Sondhi was granted a Royal
The seven-party opposition has submitted a formal letter to the Constitutional Court, through House Speaker Chuan Leekpai, asking it to rule on the constitutionality of the government’s executive decree amending the Family Institution Development and Protection Act. Opposition chief whip, Mr. Suthin Klangsaeng, and Mr. Ransimun Rome, a party-list MP for the Future Forward party,
House Speaker Chuan Leekpai confirmed this morning (Wednesday) that the Opposition’s debate over Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s incomplete oath recital will be held for just one day on September 18th from 9.30am until midnight. He said that the debate could not be extended beyond midnight because parliament was scheduled to go into recess as of
