Thai court dismisses petition challenging legality of 2026 election

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging the legality of February's general election, ruling that the ballot papers used did not violate voter secrecy.



Nearly 38 million Thais voted in the Feb 8 election, which was won decisively by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's Bhumjaithai Party, allowing it to form a coalition government controlling more than 290 of the 500 seats in parliament.



The ruling averts the possibility of an election re-run and will be welcomed by Anutin, whose party is facing a challenge to win public trust amid a stuttering economy and allegations of corruption and involvement in rigging a selection process for the Senate, which it denies.



The decision had been closely watched in Thailand, where the Constitutional Court has been at the heart of two decades of intermittent political turmoil through verdicts that dissolved big parties, voided two general elections and brought down multiple governments and prime ministers.