Thai PM's party agrees to form coalition with Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai
The support of Pheu Thai - which came in third in the election - will give Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul a clear parliamentary majority.
Pheu Thai Party’s prime minister candidate Yodchanan Wongsawat (second from right) with other leaders at the party's final rally at Thephasadin Stadium in Bangkok on Feb 6, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Jarupat Karunyaprasit)
BANGKOK: Thailand's Bhumjaithai Party, which won Sunday's general election by a wide margin, will be joined by the third-place Pheu Thai party to form a coalition government, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Friday (Feb 13).
Anutin-led Bhumjaithai cruised to a surprise victory on Sunday, securing 193 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, followed by the reformist People's Party with 118 seats and the populist Pheu Thai at 74, according to Reuters' calculations based on election commission data.
The support of Pheu Thai - backed by the currently imprisoned billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra - will give Anutin a clear parliamentary majority, potentially paving the way for a stable coalition.
"We will work together as a government and manage the country so we can do good things for the country," Anutin told reporters, after holding talks with Pheu Thai leaders.
Bhumjaithai was a member of a Pheu Thai-led ruling coalition that took power following the last election in 2023, but walked out of the alliance in June last year, following a leaked phone call between then premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
Paetongtarn was later dismissed by a court order, opening the door for Anutin to become prime minister.
"Please erase any misunderstandings from the past," Anutin said. "We would like to work together, govern the country together."
Pheu Thai came in a distant third in the general election, its worst election result, raising questions about the future of the political machine built by Thaksin.
"We have no conditions for working with any party," Prasert Chanruangthong, secretary-general of Pheu Thai, told reporters at a press conference at party headquarters.
"Our priority is for the country to move forward for the greatest benefit of the people."
Voters appeared to turn their backs on the reformist People's Party, which came second.
Thaksin is serving a one-year prison sentence for corruption in office, but many observers expect him to be released earlier than scheduled, alongside a political agreement.
The Shinawatras have produced no fewer than four Thai prime ministers this century, and Pheu Thai's latest nominee for the position, biomedical engineering professor Yodchanan Wongsawat, is Thaksin's nephew.
Thaksin's political clan has for two decades been the key foe of Thailand's pro-military, pro-royalty elite, who view their populist brand as a threat to traditional social order.
Some analysts had said Pheu Thai's losses on Sunday marked the end of the long-standing Shinawatra dynasty.
But its inclusion in the coalition leaves open the possibility of a political comeback.
The Southeast Asian nation's next administration will need to tackle anaemic economic growth, with its vital tourism industry yet to rebound to pre-COVID highs, and manage fallout over multibillion-dollar cyberscam networks operating from the region.
Perhaps most pressing is the Cambodia dispute, which erupted into open fighting in July and December, killing scores of people on both sides and displacing around a million altogether.
The conflict was top of mind for many voters, with analysts saying a wave of nationalism propelled Anutin to victory.
