Thailand dissolves its lower house of parliament today ahead of general elections, to be held in the next two months. Photo: Jonathan Klein/ AFP

Today marks the scheduled termination of Thailand’s House of Representatives. The king, Maha Vajiralongkorn, approved to dissolve parliament through government decree on March 20. Thailand’s next general election must be scheduled within 45 to 60 days.

Thailand has a historically charged political environment, typically resulting in a contest for power between the opposition Pheu Thai Party (PTP) and Thailand’s conservative and hereditary monarchy Last year, the PTP failed to dislodge Prime Minister Prayut Chan-Ocha from office by arguing he had reached the eight-year term limit following the successful military coup d’état in 2014. Prayut has since held power and is expected to run for an electoral ballot win over the main PTP frontrunner Paetongtarn Shinawatra – daughter of overthrown 2014 Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra

Given the opposition has traditionally been shut out of power by the conservative elite and military-entrenched House of Representatives, it is likely that the PTP will not secure enough seats unless they win by a vast landslide. If so, this will cause a considerable shake-up in domestic politics given Shinawatra’s policies align with the growing regional economic and labour concerns. However, regardless of the outcome the military will continue to control many aspects of the Thai government.