Thailand’s parliament voted on Friday for Paetongtarn Shinawatra to be the country’s next prime minister, thrusting another member of the kingdom’s most famed and divisive political dynasty into the top job.
The vote came two days after Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office, in a surprise decision that plunged the kingdom into further political uncertainty and raised fresh concern over the erosion of democratic rights.
Paetongtarn, 37, won 319 votes in the House of Representatives, after being nominated as the sole candidate by her Pheu Thai party’s ruling coalition to replace Srettha. She still needs to be endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn before she can officially take office and appoint a Cabinet.
Paetongtarn will be Thailand’s second female prime minister, after her aunt Yingluck – and the youngest to hold the position.
A political newcomer, Paetongtarn was one of three prime ministerial candidates for Pheu Thai ahead of the May 2023 national elections and made international headlines when she gave birth just two weeks before the vote.
Her appointment adds another twist to a years-long saga that has shaken up Thailand’s already turbulent political landscape.
Paetongtarn is the youngest daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup. Thaksin is one of Thailand’s most influential figures, whose economic and populist policies enabled him to build up a political machine that has dominated Thai politics for the past two decades. (CNN)