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BANGKOK (AP) — Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, will be nominated as the country’s new prime minister in a parliamentary vote, her party and its coalition partners said Thursday.
The move follows the removal of former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin by court order over an ethical violation a day earlier.
Leaders of the 11 party-coalition led by Paetongtarn’s populist Pheu Thai party declared their support for her at a news conference on Thursday after the party’s secretary-general Sorawong Thienthong announced her candidacy.
Paetongtarn thanked her party and the coalition partners for their support, adding she is ready to move the country forward.
“I have confidence in Pheu Thai. I have confidence in all government coalition parties to bring our country out of the economic crisis,” she said. Pheu Thai had campaigned heavily on improving Thailand's sluggish economy.
If Paetongtarn is approved in Parliament’s vote, which is scheduled for Friday, she will become Thailand’s second female prime minister and the country’s third leader from the Shinawatra family, after her father and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. Thaksin was the first Thai politician ever to win an overall majority of seats. His residual popularity and influence is a factor behind the political support for Paetongtarn.
Srettha was ousted on Wednesday after less than a year in office. The Constitutional Court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach over his appointment of a Cabinet member who was jailed in connection with an alleged bribery attempt.
Paetongtarn said she respects Srettha and thinks what happened to him was unfortunate, but added: “The country must move on.”
It was the second major ruling in a week to shake Thai politics. The same court last week dissolved the progressive and main opposition Move Forward party, which won last year’s general election but was blocked from power, saying it violated the constitution by proposing an amendment to a law against defaming the country’s royal family. The party has already regrouped as the People’s Party.
Pheu Thai finished second in last year's election but was given a chance to form a government after the winners, the reformist Move Forward party, was blocked from taking power by the previous Senate, a military-appointed body.
Move Forward was then excluded from the coalition by Pheu Thai, which went on to join hands with parties affiliated with the previous military-backed government that ousted it in a coup. The move drew criticism from some of its supporters but party officials say it was necessary to break the deadlock and start reconciliation after decades of deep political divisions.
The former senators were given special power to veto a prime ministerial candidate by the constitution adopted in 2017 under a military government. However, that power expired when their term ended in May. New members of the Senate, selected in a convoluted process last month, do not retain the veto.
A candidate now needs just a majority from the lower house, or at least 247 votes. The House of Representatives now has 493 sitting members after six were banned from politics as a result of Move Forward's dissolution. Another lawmaker in the Bhumjaithai party, which finished third in the election and is Pheu Thai's major partner in the coalition, is suspended awaiting a court ruling.
While Pheu Thai’s coalition endorsed Paetongtarn's candidacy, some of its key partners have reiterated that they would not support a proposal to amend the royal defamation law which became a key issue during last year’s election. Pheu Thai discussed the issue during the election campaign but has spoken about it less since taking power.
The law, also known as Article 112 in Thailand’s criminal codes, protects the monarchy from criticism with penalties of up to 15 years in jail per offense. Critics say the law is often wielded as a tool to quash political dissent.
The People's Party, the new home for lawmakers of the dissolved Move Forward party, said Thursday it will not vote to approve a candidate from Pheu Thai on Friday. Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said the party will continue its duty as an opposition.