Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has warned that he may dissolve the House of Representatives before Jan 31 if a no-confidence motion is submitted against his government, asserting he will not allow political opponents to “attack the government for free”.
Speaking during an interview session at the “Thailand’s Next Frontier: A National Economic Vision” forum on Wednesday, Mr Anutin was asked whether he still intended to dissolve the House within four months, as agreed in the memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the People’s Party (PP).
He said that timeframe was a commitment made to the PP as both sides believed dissolving parliament and returning power to the people through a general election would be the most appropriate course of action given the political situation at the time.
Mr Anutin elaborated by saying that, although the PP has more MPs, it lacks a prime ministerial candidate.
Therefore, both parties agreed to follow parliamentary procedure and restore the mandate to the electorate, leading to the signing of the MoA.
When asked whether he still intended to adhere to this timeline, Mr Anutin confirmed his commitment.
“I have never changed my position. The People’s Party helped make me prime minister, and I must honour that promise. Once the four-month period ends, the House will be dissolved.”
Addressing rumours that such a dissolution could come earlier if a no-confidence debate were to be initiated, Mr Anutin said the situation would be assessed in due course.
“We need to consider the timing and purpose of any no-confidence debate,” he noted.
“Parliament is scheduled to reconvene in December, and I already intend to dissolve the House on Jan 31. I won’t let anyone attack the government for sport or for free,” he said.
“If it becomes a political game and the government cannot play along, then we’ll simply dissolve the House — it’s only a month earlier, and it won’t make much difference.”
When asked whether he and his Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) are ready for the next general election, Mr Anutin replied that he has been ready since the day his party was removed from the previous government.
He added that, during the first BJT meeting after it joined the government in 2023, he had already instructed members to prepare for an election at any time, reminding them that “an election can happen any day — if it were held tomorrow, we must be ready”.
Asked whether he is ready to serve as prime minister again, Mr Anutin responded by saying: “Why not? Being prime minister isn’t bad at all. I’m already serving as the prime minister now.
“Before I accepted this position, I was hesitant and uncertain,” he said.
“But once in the role, I realised how much can be done for the country with the authority of a prime minister.
“Whether the term is long or short doesn’t matter — what matters is doing good while in office,” Mr Anutin continued.
Meanwhile, PP list-MP and deputy leader Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn said dissolving the House before Jan 31 is entirely the prime minister’s prerogative. He said he had no intention of hindering moves to amend the constitution.
“At the very least, we have tried. We have consistently said that this constitution has fundamental problems,” he said.