Thailand’s prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul has dissolved the country’s parliament, paving the way for new elections even as the country remains engaged in a deadly border conflict with Cambodia.
Mr Anutin announced his decision in a Facebook post late on Thursday saying he would “return power to the people” after a key political party in his minority government threatened to withdraw its support.
The decision received royal permission on Friday from Thai king Maha Vajiralongkorn and means the 500-member House of Representatives now stands dissolved.
According to Thailand’s constitution, an election must now be held in the next 45 to 60 days, setting the stage for a vote as early as the end of January.
In the meantime Mr Anutin will head a caretaker government with limited powers and cannot approve a new budget.
The 59-year-old was Thailand’s third prime minister since 2023 and has served for just three months after he took office in September to succeed Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who herself served only a year in office.
Mr Anutin won the September vote in Parliament with support from the main opposition People's Party. Their support came in exchange for a promise to dissolve Parliament within four months and organise a referendum on the drafting of a new constitution by an elected constituent assembly.
There had been reports that the People’s Party was preparing to file a no-confidence motion against the prime minister after his Bhumjaithai Party voted to keep tha rule requiring one third of the Senate to back any constitutional amendment.
The prime minister has said the decision will have no effect on the fighting with Cambodia.
Thailand and Cambodia launched a fresh round of fighting on Monday after the two sides accused each other of firing first. At least 20 people have been killed and half a million have been displaced on both sides in over five days of clashes.
Mr Anutin’s predecessor Ms Paetongtarn was removed from office after a leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former leader Hun where she was heard criticising the Thai army over the border tensions between the two armies. She became the prime minister after Srettha Thavisin was removed over ethics violations for briefly inducting a convicted lawyer in his cabinet.
Thailand on Thursday urged its citizens to leave Cambodia or reconsider any plans to travel there until the border situation has resolved. Thailand’s foreign ministry said it was preparing to receive citizens who have been held up at the border as they tried to return home.
Donald Trump again offered to call both sides in the conflict late on Thursday, while the Thai foreign ministry told Trump’s secretary of state Marco Rubio that it was committed to peace.
Trump has repeatedly boasted of how he secured peace between the two sides in a US-brokered ceasefire earlier this year, listing it as one of several world conflicts he claims to have ended.
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