Highlighting key policies to revive the economy and address livelihood issues from the three major parties—Pheu Thai, Bhumjaithai, and Prachachon—in the 2026 election.
Amid an economy that remains sluggish, accumulating household debt, and citizens' incomes failing to keep pace with living costs, the problem of "livelihood" has become a major challenge and a critical policy focus that every political party aims to push forward, each with different emphases and solutions to livelihood issues.
In the 2026 election, unofficial results as of 22:00 show that the top three parties by votes are Prachachon, Pheu Thai, and Bhumjaithai. These parties have the potential to form a coalition government and lead the country’s administration. Their policies will be promoted. What key policies does each party emphasize? Thairath Online's special news team outlines them below.
In this election, Pheu Thai highlights an economic vision focused on stimulating spending and bringing people into the system with the policy "Create Nine Millionaires Daily" offering nine prizes of 1 million baht each per day—five drawn from receipt numbers and four from citizen ID numbers—targeting four groups: 1. Farmers, 2. Volunteers such as public health volunteers, assistant police, rescue workers, veterans, village defense volunteers, etc., 3. Elderly aged 60 and above, and 4. Tax filers.
Pheu Thai states that this policy is not merely about incentivizing luck but aims to push transactions into the tax system, increase state revenue, and support long-term investment in data infrastructure.
Additionally, they propose structural solutions through the "Thai People Without Poverty" policy to support those with incomes below the poverty line, and a "Bad Debt Relief" policy for citizens. This covers unsecured debts up to 200,000 baht overdue for more than one year, allowing debt settlement at only 10% of the total debt to reduce burden and restore economic opportunities for the lower-income population.
Bhumjaithai presents a broad framework called "GDP Growth 3% Plus" aiming to grow the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 3% through ten measures, notably continuing the "Half-Half Plus" policy, which directly stimulates purchasing power by reducing buyers' expenses and increasing sellers' income.
They also build upon the "State Welfare Card Plus" by reviewing eligibility and issuing new welfare cards to better target assistance, including the "Quick Debt Closure Plus" policy, which brings small debts into a state asset management company; disciplined debtors get principal and interest reductions and credit bureau unlocks. At the same time, they propose cost-of-living reductions, such as capping electricity prices at 3 baht per unit.
For SMEs, their policy is "Made in Thailand SMEs Plus", which enhances liquidity and lowers costs by providing low-interest loans, larger new credit guarantee mechanisms than the SME Development Bank, opening new markets, and supporting SMEs’ transition to online platforms.
The Prachachon Party emphasizes the flagship policy "Receipt Lottery" aimed at stimulating the economy year-round, supporting SMEs in competing with large companies, and encouraging consumers to support SMEs more. Consumers accumulate purchase amounts from SME shops (across multiple stores) and receive one lottery ticket for every 500 baht spent, while shops receive lottery tickets for every 5,000 baht in sales. Tax incentives are also proposed to bring shops into the system, such as raising the VAT threshold from 1.8 million baht/year to 3.6 million baht/year.
They also push for universal welfare and fair wages, proposing to increase child allowances to 1,200 baht per month (starting with 600 baht for children aged 0-6 and pregnant women universally), alongside a 1,500 baht monthly elderly pension within four years, to provide lifelong income security.
Regarding labor, the party proposes revising the minimum wage formula to increase it immediately by 4%, equating to 350-420 baht per day, to align income with actual living costs.