Bhumjaithai has also positioned itself as a defender of royal interests, including by resisting any efforts to change laws that would allow freer discussion about the monarchy, which remains a taboo subject in Thailand. King Maha Vajiralongkorn granted Anutin an audience on the eve of the vote — an event officially unrelated to the election but which caught attention because of the timing.
(Feb 9) : Since the turn of the century, election night has usually been great for pro-democracy reformers and miserable for Thailand’s royalists. Now the establishment has finally backed a winner, and the country may see some stability as a result.
Early results from Sunday’s vote show the ruling Bhumjaithai party is on track to secure 191 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives — nearly triple the last election in 2023. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s party used its incumbency advantage and a campaign defined by rising nationalism following a tense border conflict with Cambodia to surprise election pundits.
