BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s parliament has elected Patongtarn Shinawatra As prime minister on Friday, she continues the legacy of a political dynasty that began with her father. Thaksin Shinawatraone of Thailand’s most popular and divisive political figures.
Thaksin, a former prime minister, was ousted in a military coup in 2006, unleashing decades of deep political divisions. Paithongtarn appears to be the beneficiary of a deal her father struck with his old conservative enemies that allowed the populist party she leads to take power while pushing aside the more progressive party that came first in last year’s election.
Pattongtarn is Thailand’s third female leader from the Shinawatra family, after her billionaire father who returned from exile last year, and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra who lives in exile. She is also Thailand’s second female prime minister after her aunt, and the country’s youngest leader at 37.
As the only candidate, she was confirmed by a majority of 319 votes in favor, 145 against and 27 abstentions. Patongtarn is the leader of the Pheu Thai Party, the latest of the Thaksin-linked parties. She is not an elected lawmaker because that was not required to be a candidate for prime minister.
She will officially become prime minister with royal assent, although the timing of the move is unknown.
Paithongtarn, a former business executive, appeared emotional as she spoke to reporters after the parliamentary vote at the party office in Bangkok. She said she was “proud and happy.”
“I really hope that I can make people feel confident, that we can build opportunities and improve the quality of life. I hope that I can do my best to move the country forward,” she said.
Associated Press correspondent Karen Chamas reports on Thailand’s new prime minister.
Patongtarn’s nomination comes after Prime Minister Sritha Thavisin of the Pheu Thai party was sacked on Wednesday after less than a year in office. The Constitutional Court found him guilty of serious ethical breaches over his policies. Appointment of a member of the Council of Ministers who was jailed in connection with an alleged bribery attempt.
It was the second major ruling in a week that has shaken Thai politics. The same court last week issued a ruling The Progressive Forward Party dissolved, who won last year’s general election but was prevented from taking power. The party has already They were regrouped under the name of the People’s Party..
People’s Party leader Nattaphong Ruengpanyawut stands during a debate before a vote to elect a new prime minister at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thaksin’s continued popularity and influence are a factor behind Patongtarn’s political support. Her entry into politics came in 2021 when the Pheu Thai Party announced she would lead an advisory committee on inclusion. She was named one of Pheu Thai’s three prime ministerial candidates ahead of the 2023 election and was appointed party chairwoman last year.
When Paithongtarn was campaigning for the Pheu Thai Party, she acknowledged her family ties but insisted she was not just a proxy for her father.
“I am my father’s daughter, always and forever, but I have my own decisions,” she told a reporter.
But her job won’t be easy as Thaksin continues to steer policy decisions in favor of Pheu Thai’s party, said Petra Alderman, a political scientist at the University of Birmingham in England.
“Thaksin was a political force to be reckoned with, but he was also a liability,” she said. “He tended to exaggerate his political influence, so serving under him was never easy.”
Alderman noted that while Paithongtarn appears to enjoy warm political and popular support, that is not the only factor that will determine the course of her premiership.
“Who gets to rule in Thailand and for how long? These are questions that are often answered by unelected and unaccountable oversight institutions, (such as) the Election Commission of Thailand and the Constitutional Court, or military coups,” she said.
The Pheu Thai Party and its Thaksin-linked predecessors have won every national election since 2001, with core populist policies pledging to solve economic problems and bridge income inequality, until losing to the reformist Move Forward Party in 2023. It has had a chance to form a government, however, after the previous Senate, a military-appointed body, blocked Move Forward from taking power.
Move Forward was excluded from the coalition by the Pheu Thai Party, which continued to Joining parties affiliated with the military government which was overthrown in a previous coup.
Thaksin returned to Thailand last year after years in exile on the same day that the lower and upper houses of parliament approved Sritha’s appointment, in what was interpreted as part of a political deal between Pheu Thai and his longtime rivals in the conservative establishment to prevent the Move Forward party from forming a government.
Senators were given special power to reject a candidate for prime minister under a constitution adopted in 2017 under a military government. However, new senators, who were chosen in Complex operation last monthThey do not have veto power. This means that a candidate only needs a majority of the House of Representatives.
Lawmakers gather during a debate before voting to elect a new prime minister at parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
The alliance of Pheu Thai and its old conservative rivals under Paithongtarn could strengthen their unity because Paithongtarn has something that Sritha does not — a direct line to her powerful father who has the final say, said Naboon Jatusripitak, a political scientist at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies-Yusof Ishak in Singapore.
“In a strange way, this creates a clear chain of command and reduces factional divisions. Paitongtarn will be given clear jurisdiction over where she can exercise her own agency and where it is between her father and coalition members,” he said.
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Associated Press writer Napat Kongsawad contributed to this report.
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