Tanwarin Sukkhapisit, an accomplished film director, has triumphed over stigma to enter politics as an equal

Thailand is no stranger to political instability, but Sunday’s election, the country’s first in eight years, proved to be a new frontier in chaos. Ineptitude and inaccurate results led to widespread confusion and accusations of cheating, two opposing parties claimed victory and as the days go by, Thailand is no closer to knowing who will form a government.

Yet in amongst the clamour, it was easy to miss small but significant outcomes of the poll. When the elected politicians eventually gather in parliament, Tanwarin Sukkhapisit will be among them as Thailand’s first transgender MP.

Early results show neither side win majority amid unexpected support for military

Thailand has proved to be more politically polarised than ever after the first election in eight years ended in a neck and neck race between the pro-military party and the opposition pro-democracy party.

Going to the polls for the first time since the military took power in a coup in 2014, Thais were given the choice between pro-regime parties, who supported the continuation of junta rule through the ballot box, and pro-democracy parties that were fundamentally opposed to the military and wanted to radically change the direction of the country.

Thai Raksa Chart party was closely aligned with Thaksin Shinawatra, the ex-premier who lost power in 2006

An opposition political party that attempted to nominate a member of the royal family as prime minister in Thailand’s upcoming election has been dissolved with immediate effect and its executives given a 10-year ban from politics.

In a ruling announced on Thursday afternoon, Thailand’s constitutional court declared that Thai Raksa Chart, a political party formed only in October last year, had violated the constitution by putting forward Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi, the older sister of the king, to be its chosen candidate for prime minister.

King’s sister says she is sorry for causing ‘problems’ as authorities recommend dissolution of her party

The political turbulence in Thailand has continued to escalate in the build-up to the election, with a political party likely to be forcibly dissolved, the military suspending a critical TV station and the king’s sister apologising after she was disqualified from running for prime minister.

The latest incident in a week that has stunned Thailand, saw the election commission recommend the Thai Raksa Chart party be dissolved by the constitutional court, preventing it from running in the election, for violating the rules of a constitutional monarchy. The constitutional court is expected to approve the election commission’s request.

Twenty-four hours of high drama in Thai politics ended abruptly on Saturday when a party that nominated a princess to run for prime minister ended her brief candidacy. The move came after her brother, Thailand’s king, attacked the candidacy as unconstitutional.

The Thai Raksa Chart (Save the Nation) party swore loyalty to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in a statement issued after his late-night intervention. It also expressed gratitude to Princess Ubolratana Mahidol for her kindness toward the party.

Surprise move pits Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi against leader of 2014 coup

The sister of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has entered the race to become prime minister in next month’s elections in an unprecedented move that redraws the country’s political landscape.

Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi said she was exercising her rights as a citizen in accepting an offer to represent the Thai Raksa Chart party. She is the first member of the royal family to run for the office of PM, and will face the coup leader and head of Thailand’s military junta, Prayut Chan-o-cha, who said on Friday he was running to “maintain peace and order”.

Unusual strategy sees 10 men adopting the name Thaksin, and five women Yingluck in a bid to be memorable to voters

More than a dozen candidates in the forthcoming Thai elections have changed their names to those of former prime ministers.

Less than two months before the long-awaited elections, excitement is running high. Almost 6,000 candidates turned up on the first day of registration on Monday, no one wants to miss a chance to win a seat.