BANGKOK, Dec 15, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Thailand's next general election will take 
place on February 8, the election commission said Monday, and parties must 
nominate their candidates for prime minister before the end of this year.

"Today the Election Commission has drafted election details and proposed to 
the Commissioner who agreed that Sunday, February 8, 2026 will be the 
election day," the commission said in a statement.

Advance voting will take place on February 1.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, of the conservative Bhumjaithai party, 
assumed office in September after his predecessor was removed over an ethics 
violation.

He dissolved parliament on Friday, paving the way for the national poll -- 
which under Thai law must be held between 45 to 60 days after the 
dissolution.

The move comes as a conflict stemming from a decades-long border dispute 
between Thailand and Cambodia reignited this month, with ongoing military 
clashes killing at least 31 people and displacing around 800,000.

Anutin, a cannabis-championing conservative, took power with coalition 
backing conditional on dissolving parliament, becoming the kingdom's third 
leader in two years.