No party is expected to win a clear majority in Sunday’s vote, raising concerns about political instability.
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Published February 8, 2026
Thailand’s general election is in the spotlight, with opinion polls beginning and progressive reformers, military-backed conservatives and populists vying for leadership.
Polling stations were scheduled to open at 8:00 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT) on Sunday and close at 5:00 p.m. (10:00 GMT).
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According to the Election Commission, more than 2.2 million voters have already cast their votes during the early voting period that began on February 1st.
The battle for support from Thailand’s 53 million registered voters comes against a backdrop of slowing economic growth and rising nationalist sentiment.
More than 50 political parties are participating in the polls, but only three parties – the Kuomintang, Bhumjaithai Party and Contribution of Thailand Party – have the national organization and popularity to win confidence.
With 500 seats at stake and surveys consistently showing parties unlikely to win an outright majority, coalition talks seem inevitable. The next prime minister will be elected by a simple majority of the elected members.
The progressive People’s Party, led by Nathaphon Ruempanyawut, is expected to win the most seats. But the party’s reformist platform, which includes pledges to curb the influence of the military and courts and dismantle economic policy, remains unpopular with rivals and could freeze the party out of forming a coalition government.
The party is the successor to the Forward Party, which won the most seats in the lower house in 2023, but was blocked from power by the military-appointed Senate and later dissolved by the Constitutional Court for calling for reforms to Thailand’s strict royal contempt law.
Bhumjaitai, led by caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, is the main defender of the royalist-military regime and is seen as the preferred choice.
Anutin has been prime minister since September last year, after serving in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Petuntarun Shinawatra, who was forced to resign over ethics violations over the mishandling of relations with Cambodia. Threatened with a vote of no confidence, Anutin dissolved parliament and called new elections in December.
He has centered his campaign on economic stimulus and national security, capitalizing on nationalist fervor sparked by a deadly border clash with neighboring Cambodia.
The third leading candidate, the Thai Contribution Party, is the latest manifestation of a political movement backed by imprisoned former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and espouses the populist policies of the Thai Rak Thai Party, which ruled from 2001 until it was ousted in a military coup in 2006.
The party is campaigning on populist promises such as economic revitalization and cash handouts, and has named Yodchanan Wongsawat, Thaksin’s nephew, as its top candidate for prime minister.
Sunday’s vote also includes a referendum asking voters whether Thailand should replace its military-drafted constitution in 2017.
Democrats see the new charter as an important step toward reducing the influence of unelected institutions such as the military and judiciary, but conservatives warn it could lead to instability.
