The People's Party, successor to the disbanded Move Forward movement, has become the frontrunner ahead of Thailand's Feb. 8 election, polling at roughly 30–34%. The party has softened controversial positions, recruited technocrats and presented a roster of potential ministers to show it can govern. It still needs 250 of 500 seats for a majority and faces legal and institutional hurdles — including possible anti-graft action and conservative backlash fueled by a recent border dispute.
People's Party Surges in Polls as Thailand's Reformists Test a New Election Playbook
FILE PHOTO: Chair of the House Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, National Strategy and National Reform and a member of the opposition People's Party, Rangsiman Rome, speaks during an interview with Reuters amid a mounting crackdown on scam centres operating along a porous border in Bangkok, Thailand February 26, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Suen/File Photo
Three years after a reformist movement won Thailand's general election but was blocked from taking office and later disbanded, its reborn successor — the People's Party — has emerged as the frontrunner ahead of the Feb. 8 parliamentary vote. Mid-January surveys put the party between 30% and 34% in national polls, and its leaders are pitching a more pragmatic, governance-focused campaign to broaden support and present a ready-to-go cabinet team.
Background: From Move Forward To People's Party
In 2023 the Move Forward party won 151 seats on a platform that included curbing the power of the royalist-aligned military and breaking up entrenched business monopolies. However, a military-appointed Senate blocked its prime ministerial candidate, and a year later a court ordered Move Forward dissolved over its campaign to change Thailand's royal-insult law. Within hours, party leaders announced a new formation: the People's Party.
New Election Playbook
The People's Party has moderated some of its more contentious positions, notably dropping its formal push to amend the royal-insult law and tempering rhetoric toward the military. The campaign is emphasizing detailed policy proposals and recruiting seasoned professionals and technocrats to demonstrate governing readiness.
"For those that accused us of not being ready to run the country, we are showing them the opposite: that we have the team,"
— Deputy Leader Rangsiman Rome
Who Has Joined The Team
On Jan. 11 the party unveiled a slate of potential ministers and high-profile recruits, including former U.S. envoy Pisan Manawapat, ex-Thammasat law dean Munin Pongsapan and corporate lawyer Peangpanor Boonklum. Party figures named prime ministerial contenders such as leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut and economic strategist Sirikanya Tansakun.
Political Risks And Opposition
Despite polling strength, the People's Party still faces significant obstacles. It must win at least 250 of the 500 parliamentary seats to secure an outright majority, and institutional checks — including the Senate and potential legal actions — could limit its path to power. An anti-graft agency has signaled possible action that could suspend dozens of members and bar them from politics over the 2021 effort to amend the royal-insult law.
Rising nationalist sentiment after a recent border clash with Cambodia has given conservative forces fresh ammunition to attack the party's platform. At the same time, efforts to import outside technocrats have provoked internal dissent: former lawmaker Kalyapat Rachitroj resigned in protest, saying longtime activists were being sidelined.
Where This Leaves The Race
Independent analysts say the party's softer posture on divisive issues and its recruitment of experienced figures could broaden its appeal to middle-class and urban voters, while also leaving more options open for coalition-building after the vote. Still, whether that strategy will translate into an effective governing majority remains unclear.
"This could be seen as both an election strategy to broaden the base and a way to keep options open in forming a government," said independent analyst Mathis Lohatepanont.
Key Figures Mentioned: Deputy Leader Rangsiman Rome; party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut; economic strategist Sirikanya Tansakun; recruits Pisan Manawapat, Munin Pongsapan, Peangpanor Boonklum; Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's Bhumjaithai lists Sihasak Phuangketkeow as a contender; business executive Suphajee Suthumpun and former bureaucrat Ekniti Nitithanprapas are named as potential commerce and finance ministers if the ruling party continues in office.
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