THAILAND’s parliament is set to vote on whether 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra should become the country’s next prime minister after the ruling Pheu Thai party nominated her to replace dismissed leader Srettha Thavisin.
Parliament is due to convene in Bangkok at 10am (03:00 GMT) on Friday, two days after the country’s top court sacked Srettha over his decision to appoint a minister who had a criminal conviction.
Paetongtarn is the youngest child of billionaire tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra and would become the third member of the family after her father and aunt to hold the nation’s top job if she secures parliamentary backing.
Srettha’s removal was the latest chapter in a long-running battle between the military, pro-royalist establishment and populist parties linked to Thaksin, who shook up the country’s staid politics when he was first elected prime minister in 2001.
He spent years in exile after being removed in a military coup in 2006 and returned to Thailand only last year, on the day Pheu Thai formed the government.
The grouping chose Paetongtarn as its replacement candidate at a meeting on Thursday night after none of the 10 other parties in the coalition 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.
The ruling coalition holds 314 seats, and the approval of more than half of the current 493 lawmakers is needed to become prime minister.
“We are confident that the party and coalition parties will lead our country,” she said after the party announced her candidacy.
Paetongtarn helped run the hotel arm of the family’s business empire before entering politics three years ago and has never held elected office.
She was a near-constant presence on the campaign trail in the 2023 elections when she was one of Pheu Thai’s prime minister candidates, giving birth just two weeks before polling day.
