Polls close in Thailand as reformists, conservatives vie for power

Polls have closed in Thailand after a closely watched general election, with progressive reformers and military-backed conservatives vying for control in a country that has cycled through three prime ministers in as many years.

Polling stations opened at 8am local time (01:00 GMT) on Sunday and closed at 5pm (10:00 GMT).

While more than 50 parties are contesting the polls, only three – the People’s Party, Bhumjaithai, and Pheu Thai – have the nationwide organisation and popularity to gain a winning mandate.

With 500 parliamentary seats at stake and surveys consistently suggesting no party is likely to win an outright majority, coalition negotiations appear inevitable. A simple majority of elected lawmakers will select the next prime minister.

The progressive People’s Party, led by Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, is favoured to win the most seats.

But the party’s reformist platform, which includes promises to curb the influence of the military and the courts, as well as breaking up economic monopolies, remains unpalatable to its rivals, who may freeze it out by joining forces to form a government.

The party is the successor to the Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in the House of Representatives in 2023, but was blocked from power by a military appointed Senate and later dissolved by the Constitutional Court over its call to reform Thailand’s strict royal insult laws.

The Bhumjaithai, headed by caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, is seen as the main defender and preferred choice of the royalist-military establishment.

Anutin has only been the prime minister since last September, after serving in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was forced out of office for an ethics violation over her mishandling of relations with Cambodia. Anutin dissolved parliament in December to call a snap election after he was threatened with a no-confidence vote.

He has centred his campaign on economic stimulus and national security, tapping into nationalist fervour stoked by deadly border clashes with neighbouring Cambodia.

The third major contender, Pheu Thai, represents the latest incarnation of political movements backed by jailed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and trades on the populist policies of the Thai Rak Thai party, which held power from 2001 until 2006, when it was ousted by a military coup.

The party has campaigned on economic revival and populist pledges like cash handouts, nominating Thaksin’s nephew, Yodchanan Wongsawat, as its lead candidate for prime minister.

Sunday’s voting also includes a referendum asking voters whether Thailand should replace its 2017 military-drafted constitution.

Pro-democracy groups view a new charter as a critical step towards reducing the influence of unelected institutions, such as the military and judiciary, while conservatives warn that it could lead to instability.

Some 53 million people are eligible to vote in Sunday’s election, and the Election Commission said more than 2.2 million voters had already cast ballots during an early voting period that began on February 1.

Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Bangkok, said voters in Thailand were viewing this election with a sense of weary familiarity.

“It’s only three years since we had an election. We weren’t supposed to have another one for a couple of years yet,” he said. But the outcome is likely to be similar to the last vote, with the People’s Party again expected to finish first.

“What Thai voters really want to know is whether the next government will moves things forward. They’ve seen growth slowing and slowing while the rest of this dynamic region surges ahead. And there’s a feeling that things really need to change.”

But whether voters will get what they voted for remains uncertain.

“We’ve seen parties come into power only to have prime ministers knocked out with military coups and court interventions. And we keep hearing from the institutions that Thailand is not quite ready for democracy,” Cheng said. “But the truth is those institutions have never allowed democracy to truly flourish. And so people keep voting for parties that are never fully able to take power.”