BANGKOK (AFP) - Thai lawmakers elected Somchai Wongsawat, a brother-in-law to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, as the new prime minister Wednesday despite threats from protesters vowing to force him from power.Somchai won more than 60 percent in a vote in parliament, according to an AFP tally.
He will take office once he is endorsed by Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, a process that could take several days.
The endorsement came almost exactly two years after Thaksin was toppled by the military following months of rallies by the same anti-government activists who have occupied the grounds of the premier's offices for three weeks.
The royalist protesters have vowed to press ahead with their campaign until Somchai and his entire People Power Party (PPP) are forced from office, with the ultimate goal of curtailing democracy in Thailand.
Somchai, a respected career bureaucrat and deputy PPP leader, said before the vote that rifts over his candidacy within the party had been mended.
"There is no rebellion in the party," he told reporters upon arriving at parliament. "My family fully supports me to work to the best of my ability."
But critics say Somchai's family is his biggest problem.
He is married to Thaksin's sister Yaowapa, who was a powerful figure in Thaksin's government. Their daughter is now a member of parliament. Somchai only became a candidate after prime minister Samak Sundaravej was stripped of office last week by a court that found he had illegally accepted payments for hosting TV cooking shows.
The PPP leadership had tried to return Samak to office in a parliamentary vote last Friday, but critics in the party shot down that effort by boycotting the session. All factions in the PPP and its five coalition partners now say they support Somchai, despite fears his elevation will enrage the protesters and worsen a political crisis that has already battered the economy and scared away foreign tourists.
Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva urged Somchai to step out of Thaksin's shadow and to hold urgent talks with the anti-government protesters. "The new prime minister must clearly show how he is going to ease the situation. He must work to erase any doubts," Abhisit said.
The protesters, who call themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), accuse the PPP-led government of acting as a proxy for Thaksin, whom they accuse of widespread corruption.
They want to prevent Thaksin's allies from winning power in elections by calling for a parliament where 70 percent of seats would be appointed. They argue this would weaken the influence of rural voters who steadfastly support Thaksin for delivering universal health care and low-interest loans to areas long ignored by Bangkok's elite.
Meanwhile the Supreme Court Wednesday issued a third arrest warrant against Thaksin, ordering him to appear before the judges to hear their verdict in a land scandal.
Thaksin and his family have fled to Britain, but maintain their innocence, claiming the charges are politically motivated.
His allies in the PPP are fighting their own separate battles, including a vote fraud case that could result in the disbanding of the party.
Source AFP.com
No comments:
Post a Comment