Bangkok (EFE).- Thailand’s House of Representatives voted Friday to install conservative politician Anutin Charnvirakul as the country’s prime minister, following last week’s removal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra for ethical breaches.
Anutin, a former health and interior minister, obtained more than the 247 votes needed out of the 492-member House. His success was enabled by a deal with the reform-minded People’s Party, the largest parliamentary group. Under the agreement, the People’s Party would support Anutin in exchange for new elections within four months.
Anutin, 58, becomes Thailand’s 32nd prime minister amid ongoing political instability. He had stepped away from Paetongtarn’s short-lived coalition after the leak that triggered her dismissal.
The vote was delayed earlier in the day despite attempts by the outgoing administration to dissolve Parliament – an effort rejected by a royal advisory body.
Paetongtarn, her supporters, and interim Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai were notably absent from the session.
Despite the People’s Party’s pivotal support, they will not join Anutin’s government and will stay in opposition while overseeing the promised parliamentary dissolution.
Anutin, widely known as Thailand’s “cannabis king” for spearheading marijuana decriminalization in 2022, inherits a fragile economy hard-hit by US tariffs and sluggish growth. EFE
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