Srettha Thavisin secures enough votes, elected by Thai parliament to become PM
Aug 22, 2023
Thimphu [Bhutan], August 22 : Securing enough votes, real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin has been elected to become the next Prime Minister of Thailand, reported Al Jazeera on Tuesday.
Thavisin's election by the Thai Parliament opens the door for a new coalition administration.
With 482 votes out of the 727 politicians in attendance on Tuesday, property tycoon Srettha won, putting an end to months of uncertainty, legal fighting, and horse trading that followed the May elections, Al Jazeera reported.
Conservative senators prevented the progressive Move Forward Party, which received the most votes in the national election, from gaining power.
The poll was held just hours after Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire leader of the Pheu Thai party, returned home for the first time in years after fleeing into self-imposed exile.
Thousands of supporters, mostly wearing red clothes, gathered near the private jet terminal at Don Mueang airport to welcome Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Tuesday morning after 15 years in self-exile and around 20 scrapped attempts to come home under a looming prison sentence, Nikkei Asia reported.
Meanwhile, a coalition of 11 parties, including two pro-military parties linked to outgoing Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, will be led by Srettha, according to Al Jazeera.
Move Forward was left out of the alliance. While Pheu Thai leaders defended the new administration as necessary for resolving the political impasse and fostering peace, many criticised it as a betrayal of the election results.
According to Pheu Thai, it will hold eight cabinet positions and nine deputy cabinet positions. Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation, the parties supported by the military, would each gain two cabinet slots and two deputy posts. The ministries that each party would control are unknown to Pheu Thai, reported Al Jazeera.
It stated that the alliance had decided to back Pheu Thai's agenda, which calls for strengthening the economy, raising the minimum wage, and abolishing conscription.
