Power vacuum in Thailand: Acting PM moves to dissolve parliament; opposition demands fresh elections

Thailand Acting PM Phumtham Wechayachai (Image: X/Phumtham Wechayachai)

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has moved to dissolve parliament, the ruling party said on Wednesday. This comes after the largest opposition bloc announced its support for a rival candidate for the top office.Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was ousted last week by the Constitutional Court, creating a power vacuum at the kingdom’s highest level. The ruling Pheu Thai party is still governing in a caretaker capacity and has been negotiating with the largest opposition party, the People’s Party, to secure backing for a new prime ministerial candidate.However, moments after the People’s Party declared support for conservative tycoon Anutin Charnvirakul, Pheu Thai announced it would seek to dissolve parliament.Pheu Thai Secretary General Sorawong Thienthong said that Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai “has submitted a house dissolution decree,” news agency AFP reported.The People’s Party, Thailand’s largest opposition bloc, said it would back Anutin Charnvirakul as the nation’s next prime minister. Party head Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut told reporters that their 143 lawmakers were likely to give Anutin majority support in parliament, but the backing was conditional. The party demanded that parliament be dissolved within four months for fresh elections to return power to the people as soon as possible.Anutin, heir to a construction engineering fortune, previously served as deputy prime minister, interior minister and health minister. In 2022, he delivered on a campaign promise to legalise cannabis. During his tenure overseeing Thailand’s Covid-19 response, he faced criticism for accusing Westerners of spreading the virus and later issued an apology.The People’s Party, which succeeded the Move Forward party, the winner of the most seats in the 2023 polls has campaigned to reduce military influence and reform Thailand’s strict lese-majeste laws.