Military-aligned BJT wins most seats in Thai election

The BJT's significant win is a result of the political bankruptcy of the People’s Party and Pheu Thai, which have failed to mobilize opposition to the right-wing traditional elites linked to the military and monarchy, with voter turnout at 65 percent, down from 76 percent in 2023.
Anutin Charnvirakul's campaign focused on whipping up Thai patriotism and militarism through border clashes with Cambodia, pledging to "build a wall" between the two countries and strengthen the military, with the BJT exploiting the dispute to project itself as the guardian of national sovereignty.
The election outcome has significant implications for Thailand's democratic rights, with the BJT's win likely to further entrench the military's influence and the monarchy's power, as the party has explicitly ruled that drafters of the constitution cannot be elected, and has proposed to annul previous peace agreements with Cambodia.