Party Like It's 2025
Leadership changes — and lack thereof — in major Thai parties
In 2023, the Move Forward Party campaigned on the slogan “choose Move Forward and Thailand will not be the same.” This time around, Bhumjaithai could very well have run on the slogan “Vote for Bhumjaithai and every party will remain the same.”
The People’s Party had originally been anticipated to announce a major leadership change, in the event that party leader Natthaphong Rueangpanyawut was suspended from parliament due to an ethics case against him and 43 other former Move Forward MPs. Indeed, Natthaphong had previously announced that he would step down if a suspension was handed down. Previous reports stated that Natthaphong would be replaced by deputy leader Veerayooth Kanchoochat, while Natthaphong would take on the position of secretary-general. But while the Supreme Court accepted the legal petition, it did not order a suspension of the MPs, which means Natthaphong can still perform his duties and become leader of the opposition. Accordingly, the PP did not replace Natthaphong with Veerayooth as originally anticipated, instead only appointing Picharn Chaowapatanawong as secretary-general.1
It is a little surprising, however, that the PP did not make any sweeping changes to its leadership lineup. The party’s performance in the February 2026 election had fallen short of expectations, and Natthaphong had generally polled behind his party in the NIDA surveys. Indeed, the man who the party had billed as “the programmer who will write Thailand’s future” has always seemed an unorthodox pick for party leader. But one wonders whether or not the PP is still in a “wait and see” position, unwilling to reveal new moves until there is greater clarity on the legal situation.
Pheu Thai also announced a new executive committee lineup, but there were few changes at the very top. Julapun Amornvivat will remain as party leader and Prasert Jantararuangtong as secretary-general. The party did announce the formation of a new advisory committee, which includes many heavyweights into the Thaksinverse, including former prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and the prime minister candidate (and currently deputy prime minister) Yodchanan Wongsawat. The board also includes Pheu Thai stalwarts like Suriya Juangroongrueangkit and Phumtham Wechayachai.
For a party that just suffered its worst election result in its history, these changes appear limited in scope and unlikely to alter its trajectory. But the party may also have decided that it has little choice right now but to continue on the path of being a strong mid-sized party. A piece in Khrungthep Thurakij recently stated that Pheu Thai is unlikely to field any candidates in the upcoming Bangkok Metropolitan Council elections, a clear sign that the party is scaling back its ambitions. “When it is no longer a krasae party, and it is not a baan yai party, the ‘red camp generals’ must revise their strategy, scaling down from a large party to a medium-sized party,” the piece wrote. Perhaps the Pheu Thai leadership lineup also does not really matter: all eyes are on Yodchanan as the future of the party, and there is no tradition in Pheu Thai that its most prominent member must be its official leader.
And so for different reasons, two major parties have decided to keep their leadership structures largely intact despite disappointing election performances. A smaller party that made no changes was the Democrat Party. This included making no replacement to Weeraphong Prapha, a deputy leader who had just been poached by the government to become Thailand Trade Representative.
One party did make a significant change: Kla Tham swapped out Narumon Pinyosinwat as leader for Thammanat Promphao. It was a move to formalize the party’s informal power structure, given that Thammanat had already said that he is the party’s “owner.” Thammanat had outperformed expectations in the previous election; as he said at the party meeting, despite undergoing constant attacks, Kla Tham was able to win 56 seats. As he memorably put it: “we did not just topple elephants, but something bigger than an elephant. Whales. If it were my son, he would say krakens.” Thammanat also noted that there were 45 Kla Tham candidates whose losing margin was in hundreds of votes, meaning that the party could also had conceivably won over a hundred MPs if it had more time to campaign.
The challenge for Kla Tham, of course, is the fact that it is unexpectedly now in opposition. Thammanat noted himself that party members have been in government for too long and “are not used to being in opposition.” It remains to be seen whether or not the party can hold together, but the new executive lineup (which included the appointment of 12 deputy leaders) reveals that its members remain loyal. Chalermchai Sri-orn, the former Democrat Party leader who announced last year that he would assist Kla Tham with its election campaign.
Overall, this season of party annual conferences have not yielded big changes, despite a general election that considerably shifted Thailand’s political balance of power. The 2026 general election is over, but most Thai parties appear satisfied to retain their 2025 status quo.