Pheu Thai Party names premiership hopefuls 

By The Nation

 

FILE photo

 

Former coalition leader Pheu Thai Party said on Thursday that its de facto leader Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, popular figure Chatchart Sittipan and core leader Chaikasem Nitisiri would be on its premier candidate list.

 

The Election Commission requires that the lists be submitted by next Friday. All parties can put up to three candidates on their lists.

 

Pheu Thai Party told a press conference the three candidates were equal on the list.

 

Its leader Viroj Pao-in had withdrawn from being on the prime minister list, according to the party secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai.

 

Viroj would be a list MP as well as the three prime ministerial candidates, he said. The party would submit 100 party-list MPs for the March election, he added.

 

The party would field candidates in 250 of the total 350 available constituencies, Phumtham said, adding that he believed the parties would challenge strongly in all the 250 constituencies. 

 

It is uncommon for a large party to not field candidates in all constituencies. But Phumtham denied it was a way for the other Shinawatra-camp parties, such as Thai Raksa Chart or Pheu Chart, to win seats in those areas. 

 

Phumtham said because of the conditions in the new charter, the party wanted to field in candidates only in constituencies it was confident it would win.

 

The candidacy applications will be made on Monday and the list MPs and prime minister list would be submitted on Tuesday, he added.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/politics/30363327

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-02-01

Thai party ousted in 2014 coup picks Thaksin loyalist for PM in elections

By Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat

 

Sudarat Keyuraphan, Pheu Thai's Party current executive committee chairwoman, speaks during an interview with Reuters at Pheu Thai Party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, January 31, 2019. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's Pheu Thai Party, which was ousted from power by the military in a 2014 coup, on Thursday picked a close ally of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra as its main candidate for prime minister in elections set for March 24.

 

Pheu Thai's Sudarat Keyuraphan could face off against current military junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha in the election, although Prayuth has not yet said he will accept the nomination of a pro-military party that wants him on its ticket.

 

Prayuth is scheduled to make a speech on Friday outlining the successes of the junta's nearly five years in power.

 

Veteran politician Sudarat, 57, is a longtime Thaksin ally who helped found his now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party, a predecessor to Pheu Thai.

 

"I have accepted the leadership role. Now I am ready to go into the contest to become prime minister," Sudarat told Reuters in an exclusive interview on Thursday.

 

"I am sure that Pheu Thai will win this election," she added.

 

Parties loyal to Thaksin have won every election in Thailand since 2001. Thaksin was overthrown by the military in 2006, and his sister Yingluck was ousted as prime minister in 2014. Both are now fugitives after being convicted of corruption and negligence.

 

Sudarat told Reuters on Thursday that the party would abide by electoral laws passed by the junta that forbid Thaksin from influencing the campaign.

 

"He (Thaksin) knows that if he interferes then the party could risk getting dissolved, so he has been staying clear," she said.

 

Thailand's military-backed constitution and election law stipulate that political parties can nominate up to three candidates for the prime minister. All parties must register their prime minister candidates with the Election Commission between Feb. 4 and 8.

 

While Sudarat is the top name, the other two Pheu Thai candidates are former Transport Minister Chatchart Sittipan, 52, and former justice minister Chaikasem Sitisiri, 70.

 

Pheu Thai's main opponent, the pro-military Palang Pracharat Party, has said it will nominate junta leader Prayuth as its leading candidate. Prayuth must now decided whether to accept that nomination.

 

"I still have time before Feb. 8, but I am glad," Prayuth told reporters on Thursday.

 

Prayuth was the army chief who seized power from Yingluck Shinawatra's elected government in 2014 after prolonged street protests by pro-establishment forces that said her populist policies were bankrupting the state coffers.

 

He later took the title of prime minister and retired from the military.

 

(Additional report by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-02-01

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Pheu Thai Party told a press conference the three candidates were equal on the list.

another 'political truth', all of them know who is number 1; this whole idea is flawed; like having 3 serving prime ministers at the same time

Edited January 31, 20197 yr by YetAnother

There's something I like about these new PT people. Ally these with the energy, passion and intelligence of Thanathorn and his FF gang and we might just have a Prayuth-toppling power on our hands . . . oh, please, oh, please let it happen.

1 hour ago, Ossy said:

There's something I like about these new PT people. Ally these with the energy, passion and intelligence of Thanathorn and his FF gang and we might just have a Prayuth-toppling power on our hands . . . oh, please, oh, please let it happen.

Yeah let it happen ….then we can have black shirt snipers, burnt buildings, hand grenades, wife buying property corruption and rice scams with farmers hanging themselves ut of desperation back!!! Don’t the Thai people deserve a new start without the idiotic army OR the idiotic SHIN CLAN??

And, Free visa's for life

When I saw the headlines I thought they were talking about Liverpool, premiership hopefuls 

So the candidate selected and endorsed by Thaksin is number 1 on her list. Who'd have guessed?

 

Democracy at work PTP style - Thakisn thinks and orders PTP do as told!

2 hours ago, Ossy said:

There's something I like about these new PT people. Ally these with the energy, passion and intelligence of Thanathorn and his FF gang and we might just have a Prayuth-toppling power on our hands . . . oh, please, oh, please let it happen.

 

They aren't "new" PTP people. There old cronies of the big boss who will do as he says.

 

Same same - not the slightest bit different.

Yeah let it happen ….then we can have black shirt snipers, burnt buildings, hand grenades, wife buying property corruption and rice scams with farmers hanging themselves ut of desperation back!!! Don’t the Thai people deserve a new start without the idiotic army OR the idiotic SHIN CLAN??

At least the idiot shin clan has been a consistent choice of a large part of the Thai electorate for the past two decades. You apparently believe you know better..

Sent from my SM-J730F using Tapatalk

So the candidate selected and endorsed by Thaksin is number 1 on her list. Who'd have guessed?
 
Democracy at work PTP style - Thakisn thinks and orders PTP do as told!

And the good thing about it, is the electorate can choose this party or another one, democracy indeed.



Sent from my SM-J730F using Tapatalk

57 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

They aren't "new" PTP people. There old cronies of the big boss who will do as he says.

 

Same same - not the slightest bit different.

Oh-oh, going off half-cocked, again. Perhaps Thanathorn could straighten them out.

15 hours ago, webfact said:

former Transport Minister Chatchart Sittipan, 52

He seems good for Thailand.  Even the junta offered him a job ????

On 2/1/2019 at 2:41 PM, Ossy said:

Oh-oh, going off half-cocked, again. Perhaps Thanathorn could straighten them out.

 

Check his family background. Do you really think he could ween them from Shin control?

On 2/1/2019 at 2:12 PM, sjaak327 said:

And the good thing about it, is the electorate can choose this party or another one, democracy indeed.



Sent from my SM-J730F using Tapatalk
 

 

Yes they can - only it's not real democracy when a crook can openly tout his own political party and candidates.

 

Democracy required independent fair to all robust justice systems as well as elections. In which laws are enforced and applied to all.

On 2/1/2019 at 2:10 PM, sjaak327 said:

At least the idiot shin clan has been a consistent choice of a large part of the Thai electorate for the past two decades. You apparently believe you know better..

Sent from my SM-J730F using Tapatalk
 

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just because the Shins managed elections well, then fell foul of the courts due to criminal actions, doesn't mean the choices were better. Clearly many thought they weren't last time.

But many of those who voted for them probably also attended the protests to get them out when their scams and illegal intentions went too far.

 

Yes they can - only it's not real democracy when a crook can openly tout his own political party and candidates.

 

Democracy required independent fair to all robust justice systems as well as elections. In which laws are enforced and applied to all.

The biggest problem in all of this is the army, staging coups and granting amnesty to themselves in the event democracy doesn't go their way. Do not try to pin the absence of a true justice system on Thaksin, he never controlled it.

 

This 'crook' has been the consistent choice of large parts of the Thai electorate for the past two decades, time to respect this.

 

Sent from my SM-J730F using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 
Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just because the Shins managed elections well, then fell foul of the courts due to criminal actions, doesn't mean the choices were better. Clearly many thought they weren't last time.
But many of those who voted for them probably also attended the protests to get them out when their scams and illegal intentions went too far.

Probably, likely. Why were elections sabotaged and later prevented? I think we both know the answer to that question...

Sent from my SM-J730F using Tapatalk