Daughter of exiled Thai PM Thaksin proclaims intention to run for prime minister

The daughter of Thailand’s exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra has announced her intention to run for prime minister in this year’s election, as the opposition strives to retake power eight years after being deposed by a coup.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra previously headed administrations overthrown by the military, will run under the Pheu Thai Party, the newest version of a populist organization started two decades ago by her affluent family.

“Yes, I am prepared,” she told reporters late on Sunday (15 January) in northeast Thailand, the rural bastion of the Shinawatras, which has given them extraordinary majorities in five elections since 2001.

“We want the party to win the election by a landslide so that we can keep our promises to the people,” she stated.

In the 2019 election, Pheu Thai, which is immensely popular among the rural and urban working classes, gained the most seats but was unable to form a government.

Keep Reading

The removal of Shinawatra-aligned administrations by the military and the courts has fueled Thailand’s apparently intractable political dilemma, which has ebbed and flowed for over 17 years.

Paetongtarn, 36, has participated in party rallies over the last year and has topped opinion surveys for prime minister candidates in recent months, far ahead of incumbent Prayut Chan-o-cha, who as army leader ousted Yingluck’s administration.

Both Yingluck and Thaksin are residing abroad to evade prison terms imposed by the military government.

Since 2014, Prayuth has been in control, first as junta leader and then as prime minister chosen by parliament following a 2019 election that, according to his detractors, was held under conditions meant to keep him in power. He claims he earned the position honestly.

Last Monday, Prayuth, 68, joined the new United Thai Nation Party, alluding to a campaign to stay prime minister.

He has yet to dissolve the legislature, and elections must be held by the end of May.

Katherine S

1/4 German, 3/4 Malaysian. I write, follow and monitor closely political news happening in Malaysia, and other happening news in the ASEAN region. Newswriter for the best ASEAN news website - The Asian Affairs.

Recent Posts

V Surprises ARMY with Two Holiday Releases: A Festive Collab with Park Hyo-shin and “White Christmas” Cover

For K-pop fans, the Christmas season this year has become even more magical as several of their preferred stars reveal…

November 22, 2024

Celine Names TWS as Global Ambassadors Following Suzy Bae Announcement

After Suzy Bae's nomination as Celine's worldwide ambassador, the venerable French luxury fashion company has taken another bold step choosing…

November 22, 2024

Reddit Faces Widespread Outage, Users Turn to Workarounds Amid ‘Server Error’ Messages

Thousands of users of the well-known social network Reddit were left without access after a major outage of the website.…

November 22, 2024

Anne Hathaway Casted as ‘Verity’ in Colleen Hoover’s Book Adaptation

Anne Hathaway is slated to play the much expected film version of Colleen Hoover's best-selling book Verity in front of…

November 21, 2024

Gucci Set to Revolutionize Fashion Presentations with Unified Shows in 2025 under Sabato De Sarno’s Vision

Gucci is ready to change its presentation approach for 2025 in a radical action aimed to revolutionize the fashion industry.…

November 21, 2024

South Korea’s “Korea Discount”: Addressing the Governance Gap to Boost Market Value

As world investors wait for significant changes that might solve long-standing problems of governance and responsibility in South Korea's companies,…

November 21, 2024

This website uses cookies.

Read More