Prachatai English

A protest took place on Sunday (15 February) at the Pathumwan Skywalk in Bangkok over transparency issues in the 8 February election, including the use of barcodes on ballot papers, which raised concerns that voter confidentiality may have been compromised.

Following Thailand’s 2026 general elections, the Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) has faced a legitimacy crisis over the transparency of the polls with over 5,000 irregularities being reported.

A series of photographs and essay by Real Frame photographer Yostorn Triyos explores life in communities on the banks of the Salween River after the Covid-19 pandemic and the February 2021 Myanmar coup, such as Sop Moei and Mae Sam Laep where people continues to live in uncertainty amidst the war. Meanwhile, the Thai and Myanmar government's project to build 6 dams across the Salween River has been put on hold due to the pandemic and the war.

<p>Following the February 2021 coup in Myanmar and subsequent violence against protesters, a large number of people from Myanmar came to Thailand seeking safety and are now living as refugees in urban areas. Some came with valid visas, while some are undocumented, but all are unrecognised as refugees and unprotected under Thai law.</p>

<p>During the pandemic, Thai musicians and workers in the music industry faced unemployment as bars and entertainment venues were ordered to close. Many had to sell their instruments to keep themselves afloat, or make a living doing whatever else they could, while some left the industry altogether.</p><p>In &quot;Unplugged: Music in Crisis,&quot; Thai musicians talk about their lives during and after the pandemic, and the future of creative economy in Thailand.</p>

As Thailand’s 2026 general election approaches, the country is confronting a familiar, unresolved problem—vote buying. Deep-rooted in Thai politics, the practice has resurfaced aggressively, highlighting a systemic failure of the nation’s democratic safeguards. While the practice has long been illegal, weak enforcement and lack of proactive oversight have allowed vote-buying to flourish over and over again. Here is how vote-buying operates in Thailand and why enforcement measures continue to fall short.

Thai voters now have less than a week to go before they go to the polls to vote in a historic constitutional reform referendum which asks whether they want a new constitution. For political parties and civil society groups campaigning for a vote in favour of a new constitution, the stakes are high. If the majority does not vote in favour, there is no way of amending the Constitution. Meanwhile, conservatives are campaigning against a new constitution, and while people have the freedom to believe what they believe, many reasons cited by these groups can be considered misinformation, even verging on fearmongering and fake news.

Thailand is set to introduce an amnesty bill for politically motivated cases aimed at unravelling two decades of political conflict, but this has fuelled another heated debate, particularly on royal defamation cases, which several political parties want excluded from amnesty.

To fix political problems arising from the conservative constitution imposed by military leaders after their 2014 coup, Thailand needs a new people’s charter. However, concerned parties are worried that procedural stumbling blocks will make it difficult to get one before the next election in 2027.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra assumes office after delivering a government policy statement to parliament last week in which she promised to increase economic opportunities and promote social equality. However, her government's policy statement drew criticism from both the opposition and civil society groups for failing to address political issues and establish priorities to meet the immediate needs of the public.

With less than a month to go, Thailand is gearing up for a new government amid mounting challenges. Parties are ramping up their election campaigns to capture the voters’ mandate, particularly given the vast number of undecided voters this time. However, the question remains: will the upcoming election bring about significant reform?

Since taking office, Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has adopted a hardline stance against Cambodia, culminating in the move to suspend the two-week old peace agreement over the latest landmine casualties. What is behind this move? And most importantly, how much influence does a powerful domestic driver like the military have in shaping the government’s decision?

On 11 December 2025, the Bhumjaithai Party, led by the now Caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, dissolved parliament, with the aim of capitalizing on the nationalist sentiments stirred up by the armed conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, and the public admiration for the Half-Half Plus Co-Payment Program – a populist program that the government would subsidize half of, in total 2,000 THB per individual daily spent to buy goods. Consequently, intense nationalistic and economic rhetoric has dominated the election programs—combating online scam centers, illicit capital tied to transnational repression, and corruption have become the main emphasis for most parties. These are all genuine concerns, and it is right that they should be raised, but the human rights violations associated with them also need attention.

Harrison George mocks American exceptionalism and Donald Trump’s foreign policy, particularly his demand to obtain Greenland. By creating an exaggerated fictional scenario in which Long Island is under occupation by the NATO force, the article also highlights the perceived recklessness, hypocrisy, and self-interest of Trump’s leadership.

Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's debut feature film, A Useful Ghost (2025), the spirit of a woman returns to live with her husband by possessing a vacuum cleaner. The film, writes Lorence Lozano, the politics of history, memory, and forgetting.

The election observation organization Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) issued a statement today (17 February) raising serious concerns over potential infringement of ballot secrecy due to the use of barcodes and QR codes on ballot papers in the 2026 general election.

Following the 8 February general election, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said that there are several structural and contextual issues that extend beyond voting procedures and are relevant to public confidence in democratic governance and encourages a review of the Commission’s terms of reference, including consideration of ways to ensure a more representative and inclusive appointment process, which could be addressed through future constitutional discussions.