The election would be the second since the 2014 coup and the first since 2020 youth-led pro-democracy protests rocked Bangkok.
Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has approved a decree to dissolve parliament, according to an announcement in the Royal Gazette, paving the way for elections in May.
An election must be held 45 to 60 days after the dissolution of the house, which takes effect immediately.
“This is a return of the political decision-making power to the people to swiftly resume a democratic government with the king as head of state,” the decree, published on Monday, said.
An election date has yet to be announced, but Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said earlier today that it would likely be held on May 14 if the House were dissolved on Monday.
The elections are the second since the 2014 coup and the first since the country was rocked by massive youth-led pro-democracy protests in Bangkok in 2020. conservative pro-military establishment.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter and niece of toppled former prime ministers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra respectively, has led the way as prime minister in opinion polls, with her support rising 10 points to 38.2 percent in a poll released over the weekend.
The poll conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration placed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha, who has been in power since a 2014 coup against the Pheu Thai government, in third place with 15.65 percent.
Paetongtarn said on Friday she was confident of winning the election in a landslide, aiming to prevent any political maneuver against her party, which has previously been ousted from office by court rulings and military coups.
