It was a year of tumult on the political front, with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's selection as sole prime ministerial candidate of the United Thai Nation Party, the Constitutional Court's ruling that Prime Minister Prayut's term still had time to run, and the landslide victory of independent candidate Chadchart Sittipunt in the Bangkok governor election.
1. PM lays bare his plans
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha last Friday dispelled public doubts when he told reporters at Government House that he would join the United Thai Nation Party (UTN), also known as Ruam Thai Sang Chart, and expressed his readiness to be a prime ministerial candidate for the party.
Gen Prayut clarified his intentions after the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) which nominated him in the 2019 general election, said it would put forward party leader Gen Prawit as its sole prime ministerial candidate.
"I have followed up the situation regarding the nomination of prime ministerial candidates of each party. I have taken into consideration principles and a number of reasons," he said.
"Ruam Thai Sang Chart has expressed its willingness to support me for prime minister at the next election. It is necessary that I make things clear. Otherwise, the criticism will continue, and this will cause damage.
"I said earlier that I was previously supported by Palang Pracharath, but the party has already decided to nominate its party leader as its PM candidate.
"So, I have made a decision today. In fact, preparations have been made earlier. I decided to join Ruam Thai Sang Chart. Let's be at ease now. In the end, it's up to the people whether they will support me or not," he said.
Earlier on Dec 6, Gen Prayut said he was preparing to join UTN, adding he would seek to carry on in office for the maximum two years granted him by the charter after the election, after which he would have a suitable successor in place.
"If I am able to stay on as prime minister, I will do so only until 2025," said Gen Prayut. "I will do my best and then find a suitable and acceptable successor."
It was the first time Gen Prayut had sketched out his political intentions. Many believe he will be a UTN prime ministerial candidate after ditching the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).
The separation of Gen Prayut from the PPRP led by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has been planned, as the party suffered a slump in popularity amid internal conflicts.
Political observers believe the UTN will attract MPs and politicians from various parties, while Gen Prayut's popularity rating in the South is still higher than that of other prime ministerial candidates.
The PPRP, meanwhile, will emphasise winning votes in constituency seats.
If the coalition parties win more seats than the current opposition parties, the UTN will be able to cooperate with PPRP, resulting in the "three brothers in arms" -- a reference to Gen Prayut, Gen Prawit, and Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda -- carrying a great deal of clout in the system after the election, just as they do now, they said.
2. Charter court no barrier
Since returning to power following the 2019 general election, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has faced several cases in the Constitutional Court that could have seen him ousted from office.
He has survived them all, with the latest ruling on Sept 30 allowing him to continue serving while making clear that he has used up much of his eight-year tenure.
The ruling was in response to a petition by the opposition asking if Gen Prayut had completed his term limit.
Section 158 of the constitution says an individual can only serve as prime minister for a maximum of eight years, regardless of whether the four-year terms were served consecutively or not.
The opposition cited the fact that he had served in the post since Aug 24, 2014, so his term maximum eight-year tenure should end on Aug 24 this year. A group of 51 academics from 15 universities jointly submitted their legal opinions to the court to support this view.
However, others argued that his term should end in 2027 because he was appointed the premier under the 2017 charter in June 2019. As a result, his eight-year limit would end in 2027.
According to another metric, the clock started in April 2017 when the current charter was promulgated, meaning Gen Prayut's tenure would end in 2025.
On Sept 30, the judges ruled by a majority that his eight-year term in office did not expire on Aug 24 this year and that his tenure should be counted from April 6, 2017, when the current charter was promulgated.
As a result, Gen Prayut could stay in office until 2025, assuming he puts himself forward for the post again in a vote by parliament after the general election expected in the first half of next year.
When accepting the petition for review, the court voted 5-4 to suspend Gen Prayut from duty until it handed down the ruling. Gen Prayut stayed on as defence minister during the suspension.
3. Defections boost party
Thirty-one MPs moved to the Bhumjaithai Party in one day, making this the biggest MP transfer of the year.
Those MPs, most of whom were members of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), resigned from the House on Dec 14 amid rumours that they would run under the Bhumjaithai Party banner.
Of the MPs who have quit, 11 are from the PPRP, seven from the main opposition Pheu Thai Party, five from the Move Forward Party, two from the New Economics Party, and one each from the Chartpattanakla, Pracha Piwat, Puea Chat, Ruam Palang, Seri Ruam Thai, and Democrat parties.
The resignation brings the total MPs left to 442.
According to sources, the resignations could disrupt the functioning of the House. Parliament president Chuan Leekpai said a wave of resignations like this was unusual, comparing it to a similar wave that occurred during the Chavalit Yongchaiyudh administration.
The Bhumjaithai Party then introduced the defectors group on Dec 16, the day they opened their new office.
In a speech, Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul insisted that this wave of resignations would not result in Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha calling for a House dissolution.
Even if only 60 Bhumjaithai candidates win a seat, the chances of Bhumjaithai emerging as a major political figure shaping the post-poll landscape have increased.
4. Confidence debate ructions
The last no-confidence debate in this House term wrapped up on July 23 when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and 10 other cabinet ministers targeted survived the vote held at the end of the House debate.
All received votes of no-confidence equivalent to less than half of all 477 House votes.
The debate, however, left the government and its coalition partners wounded as accusations about the coalition government's inefficiency and lack of transparency raised eyebrows.
The results were also seen as signs of disunity within the coalition. Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon won the most votes, more than any MPs on the government bench.
That's because he received votes of confidence also from some opposition parties, namely 15 MPs of the Thai Economic Party (TEP), four MPs of the Move Forward Party and one MP of the Prachachat Party.
By contrast, Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda received the least votes, as he was subject to a boycott by the TEP, led by Capt Thamanat Prompow, who earlier defected from the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).
Eight MPs on the government bench also didn't vote for Gen Anupong. They comprised six MPs in the PPRP group known as Pak Nam, one MP from the New Economics Party (NEP) and one MP from the Democrat Party.
As for Gen Prayut, he survived the vote easily, despite the fact that three MPs on the government bench refused to vote for him. The three comprised two Democrat MPs and one MP of the NEP.
5. Chadchart sweeps the board
Chadchart Sittipunt was elected city governor with a record-breaking 1.31 million votes at the May 22 gubernatorial election.
Mr Chadchart, 55, was a former transport minister under the Yingluck Shinawatra administration. He ran this time as an independent candidate under the slogan "Nine good things about Bangkok."
He was one of the frontrunners in every poll ahead of the election, alongside Rosana Tositrakul, a civic group leader and former elected senator; Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, a former Bangkok MP from the Move Forward Party (MFP); and Suchatvee Suwansawat, ex-rector of King Mongkut's Institute of Technology, Ladkrabang.
His victory broke a record set by former city governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who received 1,256,349 votes at the previous election in 2013. In his acceptance speech, Mr Chadchart said he had shown everyone that an independent candidate such as himself was still in with a chance to win.
He said he would dedicate himself to being "a governor for all" for the people of Bangkok. "I will work for them as much as I can. We will serve everyone, and we'll have a future where we can walk together," Mr Chadchart said.
According to the BMA, the turnout was 60.73% among 4.4 million eligible voters, with 1.5% of ballots void. His landslide victory sparked discussion about election trends.
Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister, said his victory was the result of strategic voting by pro-democracy supporters which would be repeated in the next general election. However, some experts said his victory only reflected political sentiment in major cities.
