Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party won a clear victory in yesterday’s general election, raising the prospect that a more stable coalition may now succeed in bringing an end to a period of prolonged political instability.
Anutin set the stage for the snap election in mid-December during a border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, a move political analysts said appeared to be timed by the conservative leader to cash in on surging nationalism.
It is a gamble that paid off for a prime minister, who – having taken over after premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the populist Pheu Thai Party was toppled over the Cambodian crisis – then dissolved parliament less than 100 days later.
“Bhumjaithai’s victory today is a victory for all Thais, whether you voted for Bhumjaithai Party or not,” Anutin told a Press briefing.
“We have to do the utmost to serve the Thai people to our full ability.”
With more than 90 per cent of polling stations reporting, preliminary results released by the election commission showed the Bhumjaithai Party with a sizeable lead over the progressive People’s Party in second place, followed by the once-dominant Pheu Thai Party.
When Anutin dissolved parliament in December, he cited dysfunction and infighting between rival parties as making it impossible to lead a minority government.
While the Bhumjaithai Party was unlikely to win a majority outright, the results suggest it is in a strong position to push through campaign pledges, said Napon Jatusripitak, a political scientist at the Bangkok-based Thailand Future think-tank. Those include implementing a consumer subsidy programme and ditching an agreement with Cambodia over maritime claims.
“For the first time in a long time, we will likely have a government that has sufficient effective power to govern,” he said.
“We are seeing what I would describe as a marriage of convenience between technocrats, conservative elites, and traditional politicians.”
&uuid=(email))