No party is expected to win a clear majority in Sunday's vote, raising the specter of political instability.
Posted on February 8, 2026
Polls have opened in Thailand in a closely watched general election, with progressive reformers, military-backed conservatives and populist forces vying for control.
Polling stations opened at 8 am local time (01:00 GMT) on Sunday and will close at 5 pm (10:00 GMT).
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
According to the Election Commission, more than 2.2 million voters had already cast their votes during the early voting period that began on February 1.
The battle for the support of Thailand's 53 million registered voters comes against a backdrop of slow economic growth and heightened nationalist sentiment.
While more than 50 parties are participating in the elections, only three (the People's Party, Bhumjaithai and Pheu Thai) have the organization and popularity at the national level to obtain a winning mandate.
With 500 parliamentary seats up for grabs and polls consistently showing that no party is likely to win an outright majority, coalition negotiations seem inevitable. A simple majority of elected lawmakers will choose the next prime minister.
The progressive People's Party, led by Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, is the favorite to win the most seats. But the party's reformist platform, which includes promises to curb the influence of the military and courts as well as break up economic monopolies, remains unpalatable to its rivals, who can 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 then dissolved by the Constitutional Court over its call to reform Thailand's strict royal insult laws.
The Bhumjaithai, led by caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, is seen as the main defender and preferred option of the royalist military establishment.
Anutin has only been prime minister since last September, after serving in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was forced to resign over an ethics violation related to his mishandling of relations with Cambodia. Anutin dissolved parliament in December to call new elections after he was threatened with a no-confidence vote.
He has focused his campaign on economic stimulus and national security, tapping into nationalist fervor stoked by deadly border clashes with neighboring 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 to 2006, when it was ousted by a military coup.
The party has campaigned on economic revival and populist promises such as cash handouts, nominating Thaksin's nephew Yodchanan Wongsawat as its leading candidate for prime minister.
Sunday's vote also includes a referendum in which voters will be asked whether Thailand should replace its 2017 military-drafted constitution.
Pro-democracy groups see a new charter as a critical step toward reducing the influence of unelected institutions such as the military and judiciary, while conservatives warn it could lead to instability.
