BANGKOK – Thailand’s populist Pheu Thai Party announced Thursday that it will nominate its leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra to be the country’s new leader in a parliamentary election after former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was ousted by a court order for violating ethics guidelines.
Paetongtarn is the youngest daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is considered the driving force behind Pheu Thai. He was the first Thai politician ever to win an absolute majority of seats. Thaksin’s residual popularity is one factor that is giving Paetongtarn support.
If Paetongtarn is confirmed in the parliamentary vote scheduled for Friday, she will become Thailand’s second female prime minister and the country’s third head of government from the Shinwatra family after her father and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra.
Sorawong Thienthong, secretary-general of the Pheu Thai Party, told reporters in Parliament on Thursday that the party leadership would meet later in the day to decide on the party’s nomination for prime minister in Parliament, with the vote scheduled for Friday.
Pheu Thai’s Srettha was ousted on Wednesday after less than a year in office. The Constitutional Court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach when he appointed a Cabinet member who had been detained in connection with an alleged bribery attempt.
It was the second major ruling within a week to shake up Thai politics. The same court last week dissolved the progressive and main opposition party Move Forward, which won last year’s general election but was excluded from power. The party had violated the constitution by proposing an amendment to a law against defamation of the country’s royal family. The party has already regrouped as a People’s Party.
The Pheu Thai government’s coalition partners have already pledged their support for the party’s candidate. These include the Bhumjaithai Party, which came third in the election, and the pro-military parties Phalang Pracharath and United Thai Nation.
Anutin Charnvirakul, the candidate and chairman of the Bhumjaithai Party, is considered another frontrunner, although he said he would not run against a Pheu Thai candidate in Friday’s vote.
Pheu Thai has two candidates running in the 2023 general election. One is Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is considered the true patriarch behind Pheu Thai. Another is Chaikasem Nitisiri, 75, a former justice minister who served in the Pheu Thai government under Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra and was ousted in a coup in 2014.
In last year’s election, the Pheu Thai party came second but was given the opportunity to form a government after the winner, the reformist Move Forward party, was blocked from taking power by the previous Senate, a military-appointed body.
Move Forward was subsequently expelled from the coalition by Pheu Thai. The party then joined parties close to the previous military-backed government that it had ousted in a coup. The move was criticised by some of its supporters, but party officials say it was necessary to break the deadlock and begin reconciliation after decades of deep political divisions.
The former senators were given special powers to block a candidate for prime minister under a 2017 constitution passed under a military government, but that power expired when their terms ended in May. New members of the Senate, chosen last month in a complicated process, no longer have that veto power.
A candidate now only needs a majority in the lower house, or at least 247 votes. The House of Representatives now has 493 sitting MPs after six were barred from politics following the dissolution of Move Forward. Another MP from the Bhumjaithai Party is suspended and awaiting a court decision.
While Pheu Thai’s main coalition partners backed their candidate, they all reiterated that they would not support a proposal to amend the royal defamation law, which became a key issue in last year’s election. Pheu Thai discussed the issue during the campaign but has significantly toned down its stance since taking power.
The law, also known as Article 112 in Thailand’s penal code, protects the monarchy from criticism and carries penalties of up to 15 years in prison for each offence. Critics say the law is often used as a tool to suppress political dissent.
The People’s Party, the new home of MPs from the dissolved Move Forward, said on Thursday that it would not vote for a Pheu Thai Party candidate on Friday. Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said the party would continue its role as opposition.
