Thailand's Anutin Charnvirakul Elected PM after Rout of Ruling Party Rival
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Thailand's Anutin Charnvirakul was elected prime minister on Friday after breezing through a parliamentary vote, trouncing the candidate of the Shinawatra family's once-dominant ruling party to end a week of chaos and political deadlock.
With decisive opposition backing, Anutin easily passed the threshold of more than half of the lower house votes required to become premier, capping off days of drama and a scramble for power during which he outmaneuvered the most successful political party in Thailand's history.
Shrewd dealmaker Anutin has been a mainstay in Thai politics throughout years of turmoil, positioning his Bhumjaithai party strategically between warring elites embroiled in an intractable power struggle and guaranteeing its place in a succession of coalition governments.
His rout of rival contender Chaikasem Nitisiri was a humiliation for the ruling Pheu Thai party, the once unstoppable populist juggernaut of influential billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, who left Thailand late on Thursday for Dubai, where he spent the bulk of his 15 years in self-imposed exile, Reuters reported.
Anutin led from the start and won 63% of the votes, with double the tally of Chaikasem.
Pheu Thai's crisis was triggered in June by Anutin's withdrawal from its alliance, which left the coalition government clinging to power with a razor-thin majority amid protests and plummeting popularity.
Anutin's victory came as a result of a pact with the progressive opposition People's Party, the largest force in parliament, which he seduced with promises to hold a referendum on amending the constitution and call an election within four months.
