Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party secured a decisive victory in the general election on Sunday, February 8, 2026, marking the first win this century for a party aligned with the country’s royalist establishment.
This outcome signifies a clear defeat for the emerging progressive movement and suggests the potential for an end to prolonged political instability.
Key Points
- Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party won about 192 seats in Thailand’s 500-seat parliament, the first time this century that a party aligned with the royalist establishment has secured such a decisive victory.
- The election was a snap poll called in December 2025, timed during a border conflict with Cambodia. Analysts believe Anutin leveraged surging nationalism to consolidate conservative support.
- Thailand’s voters simultaneously backed a referendum to replace the 2017 military-backed constitution, with nearly a two-to-one margin. If completed, this would mark Thailand’s 21st constitution since 1932.
With nearly 95% of polling stations reporting, preliminary results show Bhumjaithai winning about 192 seats in the 500-seat parliament, significantly outpacing the progressive People’s Party (117 seats) and the once-dominant Pheu Thai party (74 seats). Anutin swiftly declared a clear mandate, expressing gratitude to the Thai people and announcing readiness to form the next government focusing on economic stability.
Anutin’s Strategic Consolidation of Power
Anutin strategically initiated this snap election in mid-December amidst a border conflict with Cambodia, a calculated move by the conservative leader to capitalize on surging nationalism . Having assumed power after the populist Pheu Thai premier was ousted, Anutin dissolved parliament citing governmental dysfunction, a gamble that evidently paid off. Analysts attribute his success to a strong embrace of nationalism and Bhumjaithai’s effective strategy of attracting politicians from rival parties in rural areas .
This unprecedented victory is seen as forging a “marriage of convenience” among technocrats, conservative elites, and traditional politicians, promising a government with sufficient effective power to govern and pursue pledges like a consumer subsidy program and revisiting maritime claims with Cambodia.
Opposition’s Rejection and Constitutional Referendum
In the wake of the results, People’s Party leader Natthaphong Rueangpanyawut conceded defeat, explicitly stating his party would not join a Bhumjaithai-led government , choosing instead to operate as the opposition. Despite leading most opinion polls with a platform of structural change, the progressive party’s earlier support for Anutin as prime minister was deemed a significant miscalculation by analysts, undermining its ideological purity.
Concurrently, Thai voters overwhelmingly backed a referendum to replace the 2017 military-backed constitution by nearly a two-to-one margin. This public endorsement paves the way for the new government to initiate an amendment process, potentially leading to Thailand’s 21st constitution and further democratic reforms.
Prime Minister Anutin’s new government is expected to prioritize several specific policies and initiatives beyond economic stability, based on his stated pledges and the outcomes of recent events. These include:
- A consumer subsidy program: The new government, formed through a “marriage of convenience” among technocrats, conservative elites, and traditional politicians, is promised to have sufficient effective power to pursue pledges such as this program.
- Revisiting maritime claims with Cambodia: This is another specific pledge the new government is expected to pursue, leveraging its consolidated power.
- Initiating an amendment process for the 2017 military-backed constitution: Following an overwhelming public endorsement in a referendum to replace the current constitution, the new government is expected to pave the way for this amendment process. This initiative could potentially lead to Thailand’s 21st constitution and further democratic reforms.
Anutin’s government has pledged to pursue a consumer subsidy program and to revisit maritime claims with Cambodia, signaling both domestic economic priorities and assertive foreign policy.
