BANGKOK (AFP) – Thailand’s ruling party yesterday named Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan as its candidate to be premier in the kingdom’s upcoming general election.
The army-backed Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) gave the 77-year-old former army chief the nod as unofficial campaigning gathers momentum – although no polling date has yet been announced.
Prawit (AFP, pic below) will run against incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who earlier this month announced he would lead the campaign for the recently created Ruam Thai Sang Chart (the United Thai Nation) party.
Prayut came to power as army chief in a 2014 coup before cementing his position in a controversial election in 2019, and he and Prawit were close allies during the years of junta rule.
His popularity is in the doldrums and the kingdom is battling a sluggish economy struggling to recover from the pandemic, which hammered the key tourism sector.
PPRP launched Prawit’s candidature at a low-key event in Bangkok that he did not attend.
“We unanimously proposed Prawit Wongsuwan to be the sole PM candidate of our party,” PPRP deputy leader Paibul Nititawan told reporters.
