The leader of the Thai opposition Abhisit Vejjajiva won today selection in the Thai Parliament as Thailand’s next Prime Minister ending seven years of control by forces loyal to exiled and disgraced former prime minster Thaksin Shinawatra. The vote went 235-198 for Mr. Abhisit who also becomes at 44 the youngest Prime Minister in Thailand’s history. The selection of Mr. Abhisit is seen a triumph for the interests of urban Thailand and a swipe at the corruption of Mr. Thaksin.
From the New York Times:
The leader of the opposition Democrat Party, Abhisit Vejjajiva, won enough votes in Parliament on Monday to become Thailand’s next prime minister.
Mr. Abhisit’s victory, by a vote of 235-198, ended a seven-year dominance of electoral politics by parties loyal to the former prime minster, Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr. Abhisit, who formed a coalition with some of his most persistent political enemies, is an Oxford-educated politician who at 44 is set to become the youngest prime minister Thailand has had.
The parliamentary vote followed the end of months of protests against pro-Thaksin parties that culminated in a weeklong shutdown of Bangkok’s two airports.
The protests ended Dec. 3, after a Thai court disbanded the governing party for fraud in the 2007 election that brought it to power.
Outside the Parliament building today, a crowd of several hundred red-shirted Thaksin loyalists protested the vote, which they call a “silent coup” due to pressure by the military on smaller parties to join the coalition.
Mr. Abhisit’s coalition defeated the incumbent Pheua Thai party, which holds the most seats and owes its allegiance to Mr. Thaksin. It had backed a former national police chief, Pracha Phromnok, as its candidate for prime minister.
Recent days have been dominated by reports of defections from the party, particularly by a faction controlled by a close Thaksin lieutenant, Newin Chidchob. In a telling moment that seemed to signal the end, for now, of the Thaksin era, Mr. Newin last week was reported to have told Mr. Thaksin over the telephone, “Boss, it is all over.”
Mr. Thaksin was ousted in a coup in September 2006 and is now abroad, avoiding an arrest warrant for a corruption conviction. He has traveled to Hong Kong, Dubai and Bali, Indonesia, after having his visa revoked in Britain.
The People Power Party was a reincarnation of Mr. Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party, which was also disbanded for electoral fraud, in May 2007. In both court actions, a total of nearly 150 party executives, including Mr. Thaksin and a successor as prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat, were barred from politics for five years.
The remaining loyalists reconstituted themselves as the Pheua Thai party, which still controlled the largest bloc of about 200 seats among the current 438 in Parliament, according to an analysis by The Nation newspaper.
The Democrats hold 167 seats and say they are ready to form a coalition government with 242 seats. A total of at least 220 votes is needed to form a government.