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Thai heiress Paetongtarn Shinawatra elected Thailand’s 31st prime minister, Wang Yi "China will support early political reconciliation and a democratic transition in Myanmar"
Paetongtarn Shinawatra elected Thailand’s 31st prime minister
The House of Representatives on Friday elected Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn “Ung Ing” Shinawatra as the 31st prime minister of Thailand with 319 votes for, 145 votes against and 27 abstentions.
Sorawong Thienthong, the Pheu Thai secretary-general, nominated Ms Paetongtarn as the sole prime ministerial candidate when Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha began the House meeting at 10am.
The motion was supported by 291 MPs. Ms Paetongtarn was not present at the meeting.
Government and opposition MPs rose to debate the nomination before voting started at 11.11am and was officially announced at 12.34pm.
A total of 489 of the 493 elected MPs were present in the chamber on Friday. Ms Paetongtarn needed a simple majority of 248 votes. Only votes from MPs – not senators – were required to elect the prime minister.
The 37-year-old daughter of former premier and Pheu Thai patriarch Thaksin Shinawatra becomes the youngest prime minister in the country’s history. She succeeded Srettha Thavisin, who was dismissed on Wednesday by the Constitutional Court for an ethical violation.
Shinawatra dynasty
Ms Paetongtarn is the third member of the Shinawatra family to hold the job after Thaksin and her aunt Yingluck. Thaksin’s brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat also served briefly in the role in 2008. Thaksin and his younger sister Yingluck both fled into exile after military coups against their government.
Thaksin returned to Thailand in August last year and was sentenced to eight years in prison – later reduced to one year on a royal pardon – for abuse of authority and conflict of interest while in office from 2001-06. He did not spend a single night behind bars and was granted parole after staying for six months at the Police General Hospital.
On Thursday, the parties in the coalition government agreed to back Paetongtarn as the candidate for prime minister.
Key coalition figures had met at Thaksin’s residence on Wednesday evening and decided to choose Chaikasem Nitisiri, 75, a former justice minister and attorney-general. But some Pheu Thai MPS and other coalition members later voiced reservations about his suitability, particularly in light of his comments supporting amendment of the lese-majeste law.
The Constitutional Court removed Srettha from the PM’s post on Wednesday after finding him guilty of violating ethical standards by appointing Pichit Chuenban as a PM’s Office minister even though he had a jail record.
Pichit was once accused of trying to bribe Supreme Court officials and was flung behind bars for six months for contempt of court.
Still in opposition
Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the opposition People's Party, said on Thursday that the party would not vote for the Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate.
The People's Party is the latest incarnation of the Move Forward Party, which was dissolved by the Constitutional Court last week. The court ruled that Move Forward was guilty of jeopardising the constitutional monarchy and national security for advocating changes to the lese-majeste law.
Move Forward won the 2023 election but was unable to form a government because many unelected senators opposed its stand on lese-majeste law. The runner-up Pheu Thai Party subsequently formed a new coalition without Move Forward, and the latter moved into the opposition.
All 143 MPs from the People’s Party and all 25 MPs from the Democrats voted against Ms Paetongtarn in line with their parties’ resolutions.
But all six opposition MPs from the Thai Sang Thai Party voted for Ms Paetongtarn. Three other MPs from small parties — New, Thai Teachers for People and New Democracy — also voted for her.
Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, the Thai Sang Thai leader, was angry with her party’s MPs, saying they had defied the party’s stand and breached the political etiquette that applied to opposition members in such situations.
Thakorn Tanthasit, the party’s secretary-general, defended the move. He said he and fellow party MPs voted for Ms Paetongtarn as they believed it was important to end the political vacuum after Mr Srettha’s removal.
He insisted the party had not made any deals and had no vested interest in the decision, saying the people represented by the party MPs wanted a new government to address their problems as soon as possible.
Khunying Sudarat was one of the core members of the original Thai Rak Thai Party, the precursor of Pheu Thai, and served as a senior minister in Thaksin-led governments before deciding to pursue a new political path. She called a meeting with party executives on Friday afternoon to consider the actions of the MPs.
“I and the party executive board assure that Thai Sang Thai has a firm stance to maintain the democratic ideology and is duty-bound to perform the duty of the opposition party that must be honest to the voice of people and must comply with the joint resolution of the opposition parties,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2848292/paetongtarn-shinawatra-elected-thailands-31st-prime-minister
Paetongtarn Shinawatra
RThBh (Thai: แพทองธาร ชินวัตร; RTGS: Phaethongthan Chinnawat; born 21 August 1986) is a Thai politician and businesswoman who has served as Prime Minister of Thailand since 2024 and as leader of the Pheu Thai Party since 2023. A member of the Shinawatra political family, she is the youngest daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra (prime minister from 2001 to 2006) and the niece of Yingluck Shinawatra (prime minister from 2011 to 2014). She is the youngest person in Thai history to become prime minister and the second woman to hold the position.
Born: August 21, 1986 (age 37 years), United States
Education: Chulalongkorn University (2005–2009), University Of Surrey
Party: Pheu Thai Party
Parents: Thaksin Shinawatra, Potjaman Na Pombejra
China will support a democratic transition in Myanmar, says foreign minister
Reuters
CHIANG MAI, Thailand, Aug 16 (Reuters) - China will support a democratic transition in Myanmar and backs a regional plan to find a way out of the ongoing crisis in the Southeast Asian country, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday during a visit to Thailand.
Wang's comments at a media conference came after he met with Myanmar's junta chief Min Aung Hlaing during a visit to the war-torn country this week.
"China continues its commitment to restore peace and stability in Myanmar," he said in translated remarks.
China has promised technical support and aid for conducting a census, followed by an election that is currently planned to be held next year, junta-run media said on Thursday.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since February 2021 when the military ousted an elected civilian government in a coup, abruptly ending the impoverished country's tentative steps towards becoming a full-fledged democracy.
In Thailand to attend a regional meeting, Wang said that China also supports a peace plan agreed to by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), known as its five-point "consensus", to resolve the crisis in Myanmar.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-will-support-democratic-transition-myanmar-says-foreign-minister-2024-08-16/
Chinese FM: China supports early political reconciliation in Myanmar, to deepen bilateral cooperation
NAY PYI TAW, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Wednesday that China supports Myanmar's efforts towards an early political reconciliation within the constitutional framework, and is willing to work with Myanmar to deepen bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with Chairman of Myanmar's State Administration Council (SAC) Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in the Myanmar capital.
Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar and China jointly initiated the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and have consistently followed the principles to carry out friendly cooperation.
He said Myanmar attaches great importance to its relations with China, is committed to developing Myanmar-China friendship, firmly adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to remain a friendly neighbor that China can always trust.
Min Aung Hlaing expressed hope that the two countries jointly hold celebrations in 2025 to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.
The Myanmar SAC chairman also thanked China for its constructive role in promoting the peace talks in northern Myanmar, expressing hope that China will continue supporting Myanmar in safeguarding domestic stability and achieving political reconciliation.
He added that Myanmar stands ready to continue to work with China in combatting cross-border crimes such as online gambling and telecom fraud and will never allow any act that harms China's security and interests.
Wang was on a visit to Myanmar Wednesday before traveling to Thailand to co-chair the ninth Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting and attend the Informal Discussion Between the Foreign Ministers of China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand.
China is steadfast in supporting Myanmar's commitment to domestic peace and stability, achieving economic development, and advancing a new five-point roadmap within the constitutional framework, in order to achieve political reconciliation, restore the democratic transition process as soon as possible, and find a path to long-term peace and stability, Wang said.
As a friendly neighbor, China opposes chaos or conflict in Myanmar, opposes external forces interfering in Myanmar's internal affairs, and opposes any remarks that attempt to sow discord in China-Myanmar relations or smear and vilify China, the foreign minister noted.
China is willing to deepen cooperation with Myanmar in various fields, including accelerating the implementation of major projects under the Belt and Road cooperation and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, effectively operating the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline project, and helping Myanmar improve the livelihoods of its people, pushing for more tangible results in building the China-Myanmar community with a shared future, Wang noted.
Also on Wednesday, Wang met with Myanmar's Deputy Prime Minister and Union Minister for Foreign Affairs U Than Swe, and with former Chairman of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council Than Shwe.
