(Bangkok, 2nd) The registration for Thailand's general election has ended, with more than 5,000 people signing up to contest various seats. Among them, 43 parties have nominated 94 prime ministerial candidates.
Thailand's election registration closed on Wednesday (December 31, 2025). According to The Bangkok Post, the Election Commission (EC) that day successfully completed the registration process for the February 8, 2026 general election's constituency seats, party-list candidates, and prime ministerial candidates.
Deputy Secretary-General of the Election Commission, Passakorn, briefed the media on the overall results after registration ended. He said that as of 4:30 pm on Wednesday, a total of 3,526 candidates from 60 parties had registered to contest for 400 constituency seats nationwide. In addition, 1,570 party-list candidates from 57 parties were also registered.
The EC will now submit information of all candidates for vetting by 26 relevant agencies, after which the results will be relayed back to district election officials and the commission. The list of qualified candidates is expected to be announced on January 7.
This election sees a large number of candidates, and among the prime ministerial hopefuls, the most attention-grabbing is the top candidate of the Pheu Thai Party, former Prime Minister Thaksin's nephew Yodchanan Wongsawat.
The 46-year-old Yodchanan is the son of former prime minister Somchai and Thaksin's sister Yaowapa. He entered politics in 2014 and once ran for MP in Chiang Mai, but the court later declared the election that year invalid after anti-government protesters blocked polling stations.
According to The Bangkok Post's analysis, Yodchanan becoming the top prime ministerial candidate for Pheu Thai in the upcoming election indicates that the party still cannot shake off the influence of the Thaksin family. Critics argue that Pheu Thai is neither independent nor internally democratic but is instead controlled by a political dynasty.
Nevertheless, Yodchanan sees his family ties as an advantage. The phrase he quotes most often is: "I see family connections as a force, a form of capital. We may just be small people in the hands of giants, but because we stand on the shoulders of giants, we can see farther."
To counter external criticism, Pheu Thai has carefully crafted Yodchanan's image as a candidate who can extend beyond the party's traditional support base and attract wider voter appeal.
Unlike other politicians, Yodchanan, an associate professor at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Mahidol University in Bangkok, projects an image of a visionary scholar and technocrat. His core vision is to drive Thailand to become a high-income nation through science, technology, and artificial intelligence—enhancing industrial productivity, modernizing logistics, and boosting national competitiveness.
However, since Pheu Thai announced its candidate list last month, Yodchanan's polling numbers have not performed well; the "Thaksin brand" may have limited appeal outside traditional strongholds.
Analysts believe Yodchanan needs to remake himself and his party as a capable, independent, and forward-looking political force, and prove that Thaksin is not manipulating things behind the scenes. If voters see him as merely a representative of the old power structure, it will not bode well for Pheu Thai's election prospects.
Deputy Secretary-General of the Election Commission, Passakorn, briefed the media on the overall results after registration ended. He said that as of 4:30 pm on Wednesday, a total of 3,526 candidates from 60 parties had registered to contest for 400 constituency seats nationwide. In addition, 1,570 party-list candidates from 57 parties were also registered.
The EC will now submit information of all candidates for vetting by 26 relevant agencies, after which the results will be relayed back to district election officials and the commission. The list of qualified candidates is expected to be announced on January 7.
This election sees a large number of candidates, and among the prime ministerial hopefuls, the most attention-grabbing is the top candidate of the Pheu Thai Party, former Prime Minister Thaksin's nephew Yodchanan Wongsawat.
The 46-year-old Yodchanan is the son of former prime minister Somchai and Thaksin's sister Yaowapa. He entered politics in 2014 and once ran for MP in Chiang Mai, but the court later declared the election that year invalid after anti-government protesters blocked polling stations.
According to The Bangkok Post's analysis, Yodchanan becoming the top prime ministerial candidate for Pheu Thai in the upcoming election indicates that the party still cannot shake off the influence of the Thaksin family. Critics argue that Pheu Thai is neither independent nor internally democratic but is instead controlled by a political dynasty.
Nevertheless, Yodchanan sees his family ties as an advantage. The phrase he quotes most often is: "I see family connections as a force, a form of capital. We may just be small people in the hands of giants, but because we stand on the shoulders of giants, we can see farther."
To counter external criticism, Pheu Thai has carefully crafted Yodchanan's image as a candidate who can extend beyond the party's traditional support base and attract wider voter appeal.
Unlike other politicians, Yodchanan, an associate professor at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, Mahidol University in Bangkok, projects an image of a visionary scholar and technocrat. His core vision is to drive Thailand to become a high-income nation through science, technology, and artificial intelligence—enhancing industrial productivity, modernizing logistics, and boosting national competitiveness.
However, since Pheu Thai announced its candidate list last month, Yodchanan's polling numbers have not performed well; the "Thaksin brand" may have limited appeal outside traditional strongholds.
Analysts believe Yodchanan needs to remake himself and his party as a capable, independent, and forward-looking political force, and prove that Thaksin is not manipulating things behind the scenes. If voters see him as merely a representative of the old power structure, it will not bode well for Pheu Thai's election prospects.