Thailand has dissolved parliament after nearly a week of fresh clashes along its border with Cambodia, with a general election to be called within 45 to 60 days.
In a royal decree published on Friday, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul cited the deadly border dispute among other challenges his minority government has struggled to contain since it took office three months ago.
“The appropriate solution is to dissolve parliament… which is a way to return political power to the people,” he said.
Anutin, a business tycoon, is Thailand’s third prime minister since August 2023. When he took power in September, he said he would dissolve parliament by the end of January.
However, now facing an imminent vote of no confidence, Anutin brought the election forward.
Anutin and his Bhumjaithai party were heavily criticised for their handling of serious flooding in southern Thailand last month, which left at least 176 people dead.
The house’s dissolution comes during renewed fighting with Cambodia, which has killed at least 20 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.
“The government had executed every means in public administration to quickly resolve the urgent issues overwhelming the country… but running the country requires stability,” Anutin wrote in the decree endorsed by Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
“As a minority government, together with troubling domestic political circumstances, it has been unable to carry out public administration continuously, effectively and with stability,” he wrote.
The dissolution order comes after the prime minister lost the support of the youthful, progressive People’s Party – also the largest party in parliament – which had previously backed his premiership.
The People’s Party and the pragmatic, conservative Bhumjaithai are ideological opposites.
The opposition bloc’s support, however, came with strings attached. It wanted Anutin to start reforms of Thailand’s military-drafted constitution and to dissolve the house within four months, among other things.
The People’s Party has now accused Bhumjaithai of failing to honour that deal. It had planned to submit a no-confidence motion against the government on Friday, according to Thai media – having already called on the prime minister on Thursday to disband parliament to “show responsibility towards the people”.
“See you at the polling stations,” the party said in statement on Facebook.
Thailand has been in political turmoil over the past year, with two prime ministers dismissed by the courts.
