BANGKOK, Aug 15 – The Pheu Thai Party’s executive board voted on Thursday to nominate former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, as its candidate to become Thailand’s 31st prime minister, The Nation reported.
The board endorsed Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn as PM candidate for the House to vote on Friday after its MPs voted earlier in the morning to nominate her instead of Chaikasem Nitisiri, Pheu Thai’s other PM candidate.
Paetongtarn and Chaikasem are the two remaining Pheu Thai PM candidates after the Constitutional Court on Wednesday voted 5:4 to remove Srettha Thavisin as prime minister for lack of integrity.
Pheu Thai sources said Thaksin favoured Chaikasem for the top post as the former attorney-general had helped the former prime minister a lot when he faced criminal cases.
According to party sources, Pheu Thai convened a meeting of its MPs at Parliament on Thursday morning to have them endorse Chaikasem but the MPs chose Paetongtarn instead.
Paetongtarn was chosen as a much younger and healthier candidate, while Chaikasem reportedly has health issues.
Observers said the MPs feared that Chaikasem could face another Constitutional Court ruling regarding his integrity, as he was the attorney-general who had ordered public prosecutors to drop the bribery case against Pichit Chuenban.
