Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin... Taksin Faction and Military Share Power (Comprehensive)

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Returns After 15 Years in Exile
Thaksin-aligned Party Secures Power

On the 22nd, Seta Tawisin (60), from the Pheu Thai Party, a party affiliated with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's faction, was elected as Thailand's prime minister in his 30s.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In the joint prime ministerial election vote held by Thailand's House of Representatives and Senate on that day, Seta was nominated as the sole candidate of the coalition formed by the Pheu Thai Party and succeeded in securing a majority of votes. Seta is the former chairman of Sansiri, a major real estate development company in Thailand, and stepped down from management to enter politics ahead of the general election in May. He is known to have supported former Prime Minister Thaksin closely even before becoming a politician.

The Pheu Thai Party is effectively controlled by former Prime Minister Thaksin, who ended 15 years of exile abroad and returned to the country on that day. In the general election last May, the party won 141 seats, becoming the second-largest party.

The Pheu Thai Party initially joined the democratic opposition coalition led by the Move Forward Party (MFP), which became the largest party, but the MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who pledged to amend the l?se-majest? law, failed to pass the parliamentary vote. Subsequently, the Pheu Thai Party, which took over the lead in forming the government, excluded the Move Forward Party and allied with conservative forces including military-backed parties on the condition that the l?se-majest? law would not be amended.

The Pheu Thai Party announced the day before that it had formed a coalition with 11 parties, including military-aligned parties such as the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and the Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party (RTSC).

The coalition of 11 parties formed by the Pheu Thai Party holds 314 out of 500 seats in the House of Representatives. They were in a position to succeed in forming the government by securing about 60 votes in the Senate.

The prime ministerial vote in Thailand includes 500 members of the House of Representatives elected in the general election and 250 senators appointed during the military government period. To form the government, the Pheu Thai Party, which needed the Senate's support, allied with its long-time rival, the military faction.

Former Prime Minister Thaksin, who was ousted by the military coup in 2006 and lived abroad, returned to the country on the morning of that day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.