Has Prayut Quits Politics After a Big Loss in the Election?

In the aftermath of last Sunday's election on May 14, a flurry of claims on social media stated that the Thai Prime Minister Prayuth, who lost the election, has decided to resign, and quit from politics. This claim has been widely shared and commented on. However, Fact Crescendo Cambodia found that this claim was incorrect.

This is about our investigation of this claim.

Social Media Claim

A viral statement posted on social media last Wednesday said that Thai Prime Minister Prayuth has declared defeat in the election and quietly resigned from politics. This claim has been shared more than a thousand times and has received a lot of comments over a few days ago.

The following is a snippet captured from a claim on social media on May 17, 2023, that states “Prayuth announced his admission and asked to retire quietly”.

Facebook Post | Archived Link

The same claim was also spread and posted on social media by other Facebook pages with lots of comments. Please look at the image below, which was taken from the Facebook page that posted the same claim on May 17, 2023.

Facebook Post | Archived Link

To see the full text of the same claim posted on social media by other Facebook users, please view through the link here (archived) or through another link here (archived) as well.

Fact Check

Fact Crescendo Cambodia has begun to scrutinize this claim by reviewing election news reports in Thailand, as reported by the international press. As a result, we found the following facts.

According to a Reuters report, it was stated that The Move Forward Party, led by Pita Limjaroenrat, has won over 151 of the 500 seats in the Thai parliament, which shows that the party has initially won the election last Sunday. Meanwhile Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha of the United Thai Nation Party (UTNP) has won only 36 seats which means that Prayuth has lost this election.

A Thai PBS media report has quoted Prayuth as saying he respected and acknowledged the results of the election on May 14. The following is an excerpt captured from May 15, 2023, published by Thai PBS.

Thai PBS Link | Archived Link

Will Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Quit from Politics?

Following the election defeat, a key question was directed at Prayuth, the caretaker Prime Minister. The question is whether Prayuth will quit from politics or retire from politics.

Thai PBS reported on Monday that Prayuth may leave Thai politics after the election as his party, United Thai Nation, did not win the election. This is according to Thai media reports, Thanakorn Wanboonkongchana, United Thai Nation Party’s deputy leader, has said. See the full content here (archived).

However, a report in the Bangkok Post quoted Prayuth as saying that he would continue to do politics and hold the position of strategist of the United Thai Nation Party (UTNP). See the full content here (archived).

Bangkok Post | Archived Link

Singapore’s Channel News Asia (CNA) reports that outgoing Thai Prime Minister Prayuth has not confirmed that he would step down or resign from politics after being questioned by reporters.

The following video shows Prayuth did not confirm that he would quit politics after big loss in the election on May 14, 2023.

YouTube Link | Archived Link

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You may find the details of this fact-check in Khmer language here as well.

Conclusion

Fact Crescendo Cambodia found that the claims mentioned above were partly false. Thai Prime Minister, Prayuth, acknowledged the results of last Sunday’s election, which saw the United Thai Nation Party (UTNP) fail. However, there is no official information that Prayuth will resign or quit from politics yet.