Listen to this articleYodchanan Wongsawat, prime ministerial candidate for the Pheu Thai Party, right, and Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a former premier, are seen during a rally in Bangkok on Jan 8. While the same trend appears in train this time, it is instructive to examine each of the three main contesting parties in view of the broader development in Thailand's political party system. The main reason Thai political parties have been weak is that they have been systematically kept off balance and on the back foot. Along the way, a conventional narrative has been constructed and popularised to paint political parties and elected politicians as electoral scumbags bent on corruption and graft. Leading the incumbent minority government under Mr Anutin, Bhumjaithai has benefited from defectors from other parties, including the entire Chart Thai Pattana and factions of Pheu Thai, Palang Pracharath, United Thai Nation, and the Democrat parties.

Source: Bangkok Post January 15, 2026 18:08 UTC