BANGKOK: Thailand’s Parliament was dissolved Friday for new elections early next year in a country engaged in deadly fighting with Cambodia.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dissolved the House of Representatives after getting approval from King Maha Vajiralongkorn, whose endorsement became effective Friday with its publication in the Royal Gazette.
Anutin had signaled the move with a Facebook post late Thursday saying: “I’d like to return power to the people.”
The election must be held 45 to 60 days after the royal endorsement, a period during which Anutin will head a caretaker government with limited powers that cannot approve a new budget.
His action comes at a tricky political moment, as Thailand is engaged in large-scale combat with Cambodia over long-disputed border claims. About two dozen people were reported killed in the fighting this week, while hundreds of thousands have been displaced on both sides.
Anutin has been prime minister for just three months, succeeding Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who served only a year in office.
Anutin won the September vote in Parliament with support from the main opposition People’s Party in exchange for a promise to dissolve Parliament within four months and organize a referendum on the drafting of a new constitution by an elected constituent assembly,
The party, which runs on progressive platforms, has long sought changes to the constitution, imposed during a military government, saying they want to make it more democratic.
The issue of constitutional change appeared to trigger the dissolution, after the People’s Party prepared to call a no-confidence vote Thursday. That threat came after lawmakers from Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party voted in favor of a bill to amend the constitution that the opposition party felt ran against the spirit of the agreement they had reached in September.
The People's Party holds the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives and is seen as the main challenger to Bhumjaithai. As news of the pending dissolution circulated late Thursday, its leaders said they hoped Anutin would still honor the agreement to arrange a constitutional referendum.
Anutin had served in Paetongtarn’s former government but resigned from his positions and withdrew his party from her coalition government in June in the wake of a political scandal related to border tensions with Cambodia.
Paetongtarn, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was suspended from office in early July after being found guilty of ethics violations over a politically compromising phone call with Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen ahead of July’s armed conflict.
With Thailand now again engaged in heavy combat against Cambodia, Anutin has embraced an aggressive military posture appealing to nationalistic public sentiment, and has said Thailand will keep fighting until its sovereignty and safety are guaranteed.
After the five days of border fighting in July, U.S. President Donald Trump pushed the two countries to agree on a ceasefire by threatening to withhold trade privileges from them.
Trump has vowed again to make peace between them after widespread fighting flared up again this week. If he employs the cudgel of high tariffs on Thai exports should Thailand fail to comply with his peacemaking effort comply, it could cause serious damage to its already sluggish economy.