Bangkok, Thailand
CNN
—
Thailand’s parliament elected Paethontar Shinawatra as the country’s next prime minister on Friday, bringing to the top job a new member of one of Thailand’s most famous and controversial political families.
The vote came two days after Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed former prime minister Surendta Thavisin from office, a surprise decision that plunged the country into further political instability and raised fresh concerns about the erosion of democratic rights.
Pathontharn, 37, was the only candidate nominated by the ruling Pheu Thai coalition to replace Suretha, winning 319 votes in the lower house. He must get King Vajiralongkorn’s approval before he can officially take office and appoint his cabinet.
Pathuntharn will become Thailand’s second female prime minister, following her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra, and the youngest person to hold the position.
Speaking to reporters at his party headquarters in Bangkok, Pathomthan thanked his supporters and said he was “honoured” by the decision.
“I will do my best in this position,” she said.
A political newcomer, Pathontharn was one of Pheu Thai’s three candidates for prime minister in the run-up to last May’s general election and attracted international attention when she gave birth just two weeks before voting day.
Her appointment adds another twist to a long-running saga that has rocked Thailand’s already volatile political landscape.
Paethonthan is the youngest daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006. Thaksin is one of Thailand’s most influential people, whose economic and populist policies built a political establishment that has dominated Thai politics for the past two decades.
Mr. Suretta’s sacking on Wednesday was the latest blow for the Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai Party, which has frequently clashed with Thailand’s conservative establishment, a small but powerful clique of the military, royalists and business elite.
Thaksin’s allied parties have struggled to hold on to power after being ousted from power by coups and court rulings.
Patontharn’s aunt, Yingluck, was removed from office before the military seized power in a 2014 coup, while her father, Thaksin, lived in self-imposed exile for more than 15 years to escape corruption charges after the military overthrew the government in 2006.
Thaksin, a telecoms tycoon and former owner of Manchester City Football Club, returned to Thailand from exile in August last year.
He maintains an outsized influence in Thai politics and is believed by many to continue to influence the Pheu Thai Party, first through his sister, Yingluck, and now through his daughter.
Thaksin’s dramatic return coincided with the Senate voting to appoint Suretha as Thailand’s 30th prime minister. Experts believe Thaksin made a deal with the Thai regime to return and appoint Suretha, a charge he denies.
To win that vote, Pheu Thai made a surprising about-face, teaming up with former military rivals to lead a multi-party governing coalition. The progressive Forward Party, which won a stunning election victory last year with an overwhelmingly popular reform platform, was blocked from forming a government and forced into opposition.
Last week, the Constitutional Court accused Move Forward of “undermining the monarchy” and ordered it dissolved, dealing a blow to a vibrant progressive movement and effectively disenfranchising 14 million people.
The former members later re-formed the party under a new name.
The same court ruled on Wednesday that Prime Minister Suretta violated constitutional ethics rules by appointing a jailed lawyer – a close Thaksin aide – to his cabinet.
Both judgments are widely seen as an overreach of judicial power and send a frightening message to those seeking meaningful reform.
“Given the recent ruling, Thailand should be considered a semi-authoritarian state at best, as the people’s vote is effectively meaningless. The conservative establishment has the power to veto and manipulate to get the results it wants,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science professor at Chulalongkorn University.
This story has been updated with additional information.
