Thai lawmakers elect Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra as PM

NEWS WIRES

16 August 2024 at 2:17 am·1-min read

Thailand’s parliament elected Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest daughter of former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, as the country’s new prime minister on Friday, just two days after her predecessor and ally Srettha Thavisin was dismissed by the country's Constitutional Court.

Thai lawmakers on Friday elected the 37-year-old daughter of billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra as prime minister, elevating a third member of the influential but divisive clan to the nation's top job.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose father and aunt have served as premier, is the youngest leader in Thailand's history as a constitutional monarchy.

She becomes the kingdom's second female prime minister, after her aunt, in a vote forced after the kingdom's Constitutional Court sacked previous premier Srettha Thavisin for appointing a cabinet minister with a criminal conviction.

Srettha's ouster on Wednesday was the latest round in a long-running battle between the military, pro-royalist establishment and populist parties linked to Paetongtarn's father, a telecoms tycoon and one-time Manchester City owner.

The Pheu Thai party selected Paetongtarn as its replacement candidate Thursday. None of the 10 other parties in the coalition it leads put forward an alternative.

Bhumjaithai – the third-largest party in parliament – said it had "agreed to support a candidate" from Pheu Thai in Friday's vote.

But alarmed senators blocked MFP's attempt to form a government.

(AFP)

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