The Election Commission of Thailand confirmed on Tuesday that general elections will be held in Thailand on May 14, a day after parliament was dissolved.
Ittiporn Boonpracong, chairman of the Election Commission, stated that the meeting on Tuesday agreed to select May 14 as the Election Date, and that the EC will then forward the decision to the Cabinet for acknowledgement before announcing it in the royal Gazette.
The announcement comes as parties ramp up their campaigns for the upcoming general election, which is shaping up to be a battle between the pro-military conservative coalition led by current Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and the biggest opposition Pheu Thai party, led by the billionaire Shinawatra family.
Earlier on Tuesday, Prayuth told reporters, “It’s time to move forward towards elections,” stressing that his cabinet was still ruling the country.
The 4-year term of the Thai parliament was supposed to conclude this Thursday (March 23), but PM Prayut has already announced that he will dissolve the Parliament in order to shorten the time that MPs had to wait before switching parties (30 days before Election Day vs. 90 days).
Prayuth came to power in a 2014 coup and declared his rule would be short-lived. He led a junta and is still in power as prime minister despite an electoral campaign in 2019.
