The daughter of billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, has been selected by the Pheu Thai party of Thailand as its candidate for prime minister. The announcement was made yesterday, 15 March, one day after the incumbent premier was removed from office due to an ethics case.
“After Srettha was fired, Thaksin Shinawatra’s party selected his 37-year-old daughter “Ung Ing” as the new prime minister candidate.”
At a press conference in Bangkok, party secretary general Sorawong Thienthong stated, “We have decided to nominate Paetongtarn Shinawatra.”Today, lawmakers will decide whether to confirm Paetongtarn as prime minister in parliament, where Pheu Thai leads a coalition in power.The vote follows the dismissal of Premier Srettha Thavisin by Thailand’s Constitutional Court yesterday for allegedly breaking the law by designating a cabinet minister who had been convicted of a crime.
Less than a year after taking office, Srettha becomes the third prime minister from Pheu Thai to be removed by the Constitutional Court.Twenty years of ongoing political unrest in Thailand have been characterised by court orders, street protests, and coups.A significant portion of it has been fuelled by the pro-royalist establishment and military’s protracted war against progressive parties associated with Thaksin.
Source: AFP
