The House of Representatives on Friday elected Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn “Ung Ing” Shinawatra as the 31st Prime Minister of Thailand, receiving 319 votes in favour, 145 against, and 27 abstentions.
The 37-year-old daughter of former premier and Pheu Thai patriarch Thaksin Shinawatra becomes Thailand’s youngest-ever prime minister, succeeding Srettha Thavisin, who was ousted on Wednesday by the Constitutional Court due to an ethical breach.
On Friday morning, Sorawong Thiengthong, the secretary-general of Pheu Thai, nominated Ms. Paetongtarn as the sole candidate for prime minister when Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha opened the session at 10am.
The proposal received support from 291 MPs. Ms. Paetongtarn did not attend the meeting.
Before the voting commenced at 11:11am, MPs from both the government and opposition debated the nomination, with results declared at 12:34pm.
Out of 493 House representatives, Ms. Paetongtarn required at least 248 votes to win. Four hundred eighty-nine MPs were present at the meeting.
Shinawatra Dynasty
Ms. Paetongtarn is the third Shinawatra to assume the role, following her father Thaksin and her aunt Yingluck.
Thaksin’s brother-in-law, Somchai Wongsawat, also held the position briefly in 2008. Both Thaksin and Yingluck sought exile following military coups against their administrations.
After returning to Thailand last August, Thaksin was initially sentenced to eight years in jail for abuse of power and conflict of interest during his 2001-06 tenure.
His sentence was reduced to one year by a royal pardon, and after a six-month stay at the Police General Hospital, he was released on parole.
On Thursday, the coalition government’s parties confirmed their support for Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn as their candidate for prime minister.
Earlier, it was reported that key coalition figures convened at Thaksin’s home on Wednesday night to decide on endorsing Chaikasem Nitisiri, a 75-year-old former justice minister and attorney-general, as their choice.
A prime ministerial candidate needs more than half of the current 493 lawmakers’ votes, totaling at least 248. If unsuccessful, the House must reconvene and reattempt the vote, allowing for other nominations. The 11-party coalition commands 314 seats in the House.
On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court dismissed Srettha from the prime ministerial role after finding him guilty of ethical violations for appointing Pichit Chuenban as the PM’s Office minister despite his criminal record.
Previously, Pichit had been accused of attempting to bribe Supreme Court officials and served six months for contempt of court.
Still in Opposition
Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the opposition People’s Party, declared on Thursday that his party would not support the Pheu Thai Party’s candidate for prime minister.
Meanwhile, the opposition Democrat Party, with 25 MPs, unanimously decided to abstain from the vote on the same day.
The People’s Party, newly formed from the dissolved Move Forward Party (MFP), entered the opposition after last week’s Constitutional Court ruling. The court found Move Forward guilty of endangering the constitutional monarchy and national security.
Despite winning the 2023 election, Move Forward could not establish a government as many unelected senators opposed its proposal to amend the lese-majeste law, leading the second-place Pheu Thai Party to form a new coalition without them.
In the Friday vote, only the MPs participated in electing the prime minister, without the need for senatorial votes.
