Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved the nation’s parliament on Friday, setting the stage for an early general election in the coming weeks as the country grapples with a renewed and deadly military conflict with neighboring Cambodia.
The dissolution of the House of Representatives, approved by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, was published in the Royal Gazette, formally triggering an election that must be held within 45 to 60 days. Anutin will remain as head of a caretaker government with limited powers until a new administration is formed.
“I’d like to return power to the people,” Anutin wrote in a Facebook post late Thursday, foreshadowing the move.
The decision plunges Thailand into a volatile election period while its military is engaged in large-scale cross-border skirmishes with Cambodia over long-disputed territory. Fighting this week has resulted in more than two dozen reported casualties and forced hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee their homes on both sides of the border.
The political trigger for the dissolution came from a fractured coalition. Anutin, who has served as prime minister for only three months, faced a looming no-confidence vote from his former allies, the progressive People’s Party. The threat followed a dispute over a constitutional amendment bill, which the opposition argued violated a power-sharing agreement that brought Anutin to power in September.
Under that agreement, Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party secured the premiership with opposition support in exchange for a promise to dissolve parliament within four months and hold a referendum on drafting a new constitution.
The escalating conflict with Cambodia now dominates the political landscape. Anutin has adopted a hardline military stance, stating Thailand will continue fighting “until its sovereignty and safety are guaranteed.” The nationalist posture is seen as an appeal to voters ahead of the snap election.
This is the second major flare-up of violence this year. In July, a five-day battle was halted only after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to withhold trade privileges to pressure a ceasefire. Trump has vowed again to intervene to broker peace following this week’s hostilities.
The previous prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, was suspended from office in July after being found guilty of ethics violations related to a phone call with Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen just prior to the summer fighting.
As politicians in Bangkok maneuver for the upcoming vote, images from the border region tell a different story. In Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, displaced families huddle around bonfires for warmth, having fled the artillery and gunfire that now defines life along the contested frontier.
