BANGKOK: Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced on Thursday (Dec 11) that he is “returning power to the people”, moving to dissolve parliament and clear the way for elections earlier than previously anticipated.
Government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Reuters the move followed a disagreement with the largest grouping in parliament, the opposition People’s Party.
“This happened because we can’t go forward in parliament,” he told Reuters.
The political turmoil coincides with a fourth day of a fierce border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia in which at least 20 people have been killed and nearly 200 wounded.
Anutin told reporters on Wednesday that dissolving parliament would not impact Thailand’s military operations along the frontier, where clashes have broken out at more than a dozen locations, some involving exchanges of heavy artillery.
“I am returning power to the people,” Anutin said on social media late on Thursday.
He is Thailand’s third prime minister since August 2023, and political instability is taking a toll on Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, which is grappling with US tariffs, high household debt and weak consumption.
If the king approves a request for the dissolution of parliament by the prime minister, polls must be held within 45-60 days, according to the Thai constitution.
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