Thailand's Pheu Thai party has selected 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former billionaire Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, as its prime ministerial candidate, announced on Thursday, following the dismissal of the current premier in an ethics case by a court.
"We have decided to nominate Paetongtarn Shinawatra," stated party secretary general Sorawong Thienthong during a press conference in Bangkok. Lawmakers are scheduled to vote on Friday in parliament, where Pheu Thai leads a governing coalition, to determine whether Paetongtarn will be approved as prime minister.
This vote occurs after Thailand's Constitutional Court removed premier Srettha Thavisin on Wednesday, ruling that he had violated regulations by appointing a cabinet minister with a criminal conviction. Srettha, the third prime minister from Pheu Thai to be ousted by the Constitutional Court, vacates office after serving for less than a year.
Thai politics has faced over two decades of persistent instability characterized by coups, street protests, and court rulings, largely driven by the ongoing conflict between the military and pro-royalist establishment against progressive parties associated with Thaksin.
