Thailand: Prime Minister dissolves National Assembly
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-Ocha dissolved the National Assembly on March 20, 2023. AP - Sakchai Lalit
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In Thailand, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha dissolved the National Assembly on Monday, March 20. This decision was expected to kick off the campaign for the general elections.
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With our correspondent in Bangkok, Carol Isoux
Parliamentary elections will therefore take place within 45 to 60 days, in early May, and will see General Prayut Chan-ocha, who is running for re-election, and Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a 36-year-old woman, daughter of a former prime minister in exile, and a major opposition political figure in the country.
The former came to power in a coup in 2014, before being legitimized five years later in a highly controversial election. The "red" opposition, Pheu Thai, the Shinawatra party, won the legislative elections for more than a decade before the 2017 constitutional change, carried out under the military, which requires a very large majority in Parliament to govern.
In this context, the performance of smaller parties capable of forming alliances will also be an important factor. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's party, which has spearheaded the reform of the decriminalization of cannabis, a major new market in Thailand, and the Move Forward party, which is popular with urban youth, will be closely watched.
► READ ALSO: Thailand: Prayut Chan-ocha authorized to resume his post as Prime Minister
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- Thailand
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