Anutin Charnvirakul, a conservative figure from a construction tycoon family, has been elected as Thailand's new prime minister.
The Thai House of Representatives held a prime ministerial election vote on the 5th (local time) and elected former Deputy Prime Minister Anutin as the new prime minister.
Prime Minister-elect Anutin secured a total of 289 seats, including 69 seats from his party, the Bhumjaithai Party, and 143 seats from the ruling National Party, winning more than the 247 votes needed for election. He gained support by agreeing to the conditions proposed by the National Party, which included ▲dissolving the parliament within four months of taking office ▲pushing for constitutional amendments.
He will formally assume office after obtaining the approval of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn.
Prime Minister-elect Anutin promised reporters the day before that he would uphold the agreement made with the National Party over the next four months. He also explained that the new government would operate transparently under public scrutiny. Considering the agreement with the National Party, Prime Minister-elect Anutin is expected to dissolve the parliament early next year and hold a general election within 60 days afterwards.
The party he leads, the Bhumjaithai Party, participated in the ruling coalition with the Pheu Thai Party, which came to power in 2023, but it withdrew from the coalition following the leak of conversations between former Prime Minister Phatthongtan Shinawatra and Cambodian power broker Hun Sen, the Senate chairman.
Prime Minister-elect Anutin served as the Minister of Public Health in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha from 2019 to 2023, leading the response to COVID-19 and promoting the legalization of medical cannabis policies.
The Pheu Thai Party, affiliated with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who took power after the 2023 general election, lost power nearly two years later after the Constitutional Court ruled the ousting of former Prime Ministers Srettha Thavisin and Paetongtarn Shinawatra within just over a year of their term.