BANGKOK: (AP) Voters in Thailand went to the polls Sunday (Feb 8) in an early general election seen as a three-way race among competing visions of progressive, populist and old-fashioned patronage politics. A simple majority of the 500 elected lawmakers selects the next prime minister. Voters stand in a queue at a polling station to vote in the general election, in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb 8, 2026. The Bhumjaithai Party, headed by incumbent Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul , is seen as the main defender and preferred choice of the royalist-military establishment. Anutin has been prime minister only since last September, after serving in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was forced out of office for an ethics violation regarding mishandling relations with Cambodia.

Source: The Star February 08, 2026 13:35 UTC