Follow Thai politics in English — government policy, elections, parliament and political developments, with reporting and analysis from Thai PBS World.
The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions today issued a warrant for the arrest of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra after he failed to appear for the first hearing in a corruption case in connection with a 4-billion-baht loan to Myanmar. Thaksin is accused of abuses of power by ordering the bank
The Constitutional Court has been warned that Thailand’s third bid for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for 2025-27 in October could be jeopardised if it decides to dissolve the opposition Move Forward party on August 7th. The warning comes from Chamnan Chanruang, a core member of the Progressive movement, led
“When the upper level of government uses a law and the court mechanism to dissolve a party on behalf of their interest or dislike, it means that they murder the democracy.” “They murder the future of the next generation living under good principles of democratic and political practices as well,” the Chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians
The Move Forward party’s advisory chief, Pita Limjaroenrat, accused the Election Commission (EC) today of practicing double standards by fast-tracking its case for the party’s dissolution to the Constitutional Court, without giving the party a chance to defend itself. The main opposition party has been fighting to avoid being dissolved, and its executive committee being
A local election in Pathum Thani, for the chief executive of the Provincial Administrative Organisation (POA) tomorrow, will be closely watched as a measure of Thaksin Shinawatra’s residual political clout. The ruling Pheu Thai party and Thaksin were handed a blow in the selection of new senators recently, when Thaksin’s brother-in-law and former prime minister
The Election Commission (EC) is being urged to order a recount of the final senatorial voting, which took place on Wednesday, before the official results are announced. Klanarong Chantik, chair of the acting Senate Committee on charter-mandated Independent Organisations, has sent an urgent letter to the EC Chairman, Itthiporn Boonpracong, urging the EC to invoke
The north-eastern province of Buri Ram, the political base of the Chidchob family, his unofficially won the largest share of the 200 senate seats, with 14 candidates winning the final vote on Wednesday. Official results are expected on July 3rd the soonest. The number of prospective senators by province are: Informed police sources say
Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was the Pheu Thai party’s hope as the next Senate speaker, was voted out in the decisive round of the senator elections late last night. Final voting, to reduce the remaining 800 candidates down to 200, who will become senators, plus 100 reservists began at
The Appeals Court today commuted the prison terms imposed on 18 core members of the now-defunct People’s Democratic Reform Committee today, from between 5 and 9 years to 12 months, after it upheld their Criminal Court convictions. The sentences of four of them were suspended for two years, while the rest were not. The 18
Paroled former PM Thaksin Shinawatra gave a political lecture, as a special speaker, at Pheu Thai party headquarters yesterday. He lectured during a class under the Pheu Thai Party Academy, during which he told the participants, most of them Pheu Thai MPs, that he had followed their participation in the recent budget debate in parliament
The senatorial candidates who won in the provincial-level vote reported to the election centre at the Impact Forum conference hall in Muang Thong Than exhibition centre this morning, for the final round of voting for new senators. Again, the selection process will be divided into two rounds. The first round is the intra-group voting in
Well-known monarchy reformist Parit Chiwarak, aka “Penguin”, failed to show up at the Criminal Court yesterday to hear the verdict on a lèse majesté charge against him, prompting the court to issue a warrant for his arrest, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR). The new date for the reading of the verdict has
