Thailand will hold a general election on February 8 in a closely watched three-way contest among major political parties to determine the country’s next prime minister and government for the coming four years. Parties have submitted 93 eligible names as potential candidates for the premiership, reflecting both the depth of political competition and the volatility of Thailand’s political landscape.
The election follows years of court interventions, party dissolutions, and leadership changes that have repeatedly reshaped Thai politics.
Anutin Charnvirakul
Anutin Charnvirakul, 59, is the caretaker prime minister and leader of the Bhumjaithai Party. He secured the top job in September last year after a court removed then-prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, outmanoeuvring the ruling Pheu Thai party within hours through intense lobbying of coalition partners and opposition figures.
Known as a pragmatic political dealmaker, Anutin has demonstrated a willingness to work across party lines to secure power. Although Bhumjaithai did not win national elections outright in 2019 or 2023, its 51 and 71 seats respectively were sufficient to secure influential royalist-aligned ministries, including interior and health, as well as the deputy prime ministership.
In a polarized political environment marked by deep rivalries, Anutin has emerged as a rare bridge between competing elites. While broadly viewed as a conservative, he gained international attention for leading Thailand’s successful campaign to decriminalise cannabis. With defections from other parties and Bhumjaithai’s brief stint in government, Anutin may enter the election with increased leverage, though his political future will depend as much on post-election bargaining as on the vote itself.
Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut
Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, 38, represents the progressive camp and currently leads the People’s Party. A former businessman and software engineer, he founded a cloud services company after university and entered parliament in 2019 with the Future Forward Party.
Natthaphong played a central role in shaping the digital and social media strategies of Future Forward and later Move Forward, contributing significantly to Move Forward’s victory in the 2023 election. After a court dissolved Move Forward in August 2024 and banned its leadership for proposing amendments to the law protecting the monarchy from criticism, Natthaphong was appointed leader of the successor People’s Party.
He later became Thailand’s youngest-ever Leader of the Opposition, embodying the generational shift sought by progressive voters.
Yodchanan Wongsawat
Yodchanan Wongsawat, 46, is a political newcomer from one of Thailand’s most powerful families. He is the son of former prime minister Somchai Wongsawat and a member of the billionaire Shinawatra clan, founders of the Pheu Thai party and a dominant force in Thai politics for a quarter century.
Trained as an engineer, Yodchanan spent most of his career in academia and is a professor of biomedical engineering at Mahidol University in Bangkok. His limited political experience includes serving as a technology policy adviser to the previous Pheu Thai-led government.
In a recent interview, Yodchanan described himself as standing “on the shoulder of a giant,” referring to his uncle Thaksin Shinawatra, the jailed former prime minister. His aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, and cousin Paetongtarn Shinawatra were also prime ministers, all removed from office through coups or court rulings. If Yodchanan ascends to the premiership, historical precedent suggests he would face formidable institutional resistance.
Sihasak Phuangketkeow
Sihasak Phuangketkeow, 67, is Thailand’s foreign minister and a career diplomat making his first formal entry into electoral politics. Running under the Bhumjaithai Party banner, he represents the party’s effort to attract technocrats and experienced professionals.
Sihasak previously served as Thailand’s ambassador to Japan, France, and the United Nations in Geneva, earning recognition across Southeast Asia. He is one of two Bhumjaithai candidates eligible for the premiership, alongside Anutin.
Sirikanya Tansakun
Sirikanya Tansakun, 44, is the deputy leader of the People’s Party and a prominent figure in Thailand’s progressive movement. Educated in Thailand and France, she holds two master’s degrees and was Move Forward’s finance minister-designate during its blocked attempt to form a government in 2023.
She had initially been considered a frontrunner to lead the movement after Move Forward’s dissolution but ultimately assumed the deputy leadership role in the successor party.
Abhisit Vejjajiva
Abhisit Vejjajiva, 61, served as prime minister from 2008 to 2011 during a period marked by major political violence. He came to office only after courts removed two previous premiers.
Born and educated in Britain, Abhisit studied at Eton College and Oxford University and holds dual Thai and British nationality. A skilled orator and seasoned media performer, he once enjoyed strong backing from Thailand’s conservative establishment.
Although his Democrat Party has declined in recent years, it is attempting to reinvent itself and could play a decisive role in coalition-building. Abhisit has positioned himself as a more neutral figure, and a return to the premiership remains possible if the election results in deadlock or crisis.
Veerayooth Kanchoochat
Veerayooth Kanchoochat, 46, is the People’s Party’s third candidate for prime minister and a contingency option if senior figures are barred from office. He holds a doctorate from the University of Cambridge and previously lectured in Japan before serving as an economic adviser to Move Forward.
He is among 44 former Move Forward lawmakers under investigation for alleged ethics violations related to efforts to amend the royal insult law in 2021. If the case advances to the Supreme Court, lengthy political bans could follow, reshaping the party’s leadership once again.
Personal Analysis
This lineup of contenders underscores how Thailand’s political system remains caught between continuity and disruption. Familiar power networks, particularly the Shinawatra dynasty and conservative-aligned institutions, continue to shape outcomes even as younger, tech-savvy reformists gain popular support. The repeated dissolution of parties and judicial intervention suggests that electoral victory alone is rarely enough to govern.
Anutin’s rise illustrates the enduring power of coalition politics and elite bargaining, while Natthaphong’s ascent highlights a generational challenge to entrenched authority. Yet history suggests that institutional resistance, rather than voter preference, may once again determine who ultimately holds power. The February election is therefore less a resolution of Thailand’s political struggle than its latest chapter.
With information from Reuters.
