By D.Arul Rajoo, Bernama,
Bangkok : Somchai Wongsawat, a former judge and the brother-in-law of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, was Wednesday elected the 26th prime minister of Thailand, and the fourth in three years.
The acting Prime Minister and Education Minister secured 298 votes to edge Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva who received 163 votes during voting in Parliament, while five abstained. The Lower House of Representatives has 480 seats.
House Speaker Chai Chidchob then proclaimed Somchai, who was nominated by the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and supported by five other parties in the coalition government, as the new prime minister.
The 61-year-old Somchai succeeded Samak Sundaravej, who warmed the seat for merely seven months before he was disqualified by the Constitution Court for violating the Constitution by hosting the “Tasting and Grumbling” and “All Set at 6 a.m.” cooking programme while still in office.
Samak tried to make a comeback but was snubbed by his own party lawmakers, forcing the Friday Parliament session to be postponed due to lack of quorom. Samak was absent during the voting Wednesday.
“Thank you to all the members of parliament who came to elect the Prime Minister today and thank you to all who select me and gave me the trust to become the 26th prime minister of Thailand. I will do my best,” Somchai said in his brief speech, as hundreds of pro-government supporters chanted his name outside the parliament building.
It was a smooth passage for Somchai today after days of wrangling within the PPP as 73 members of parliament from the northeast, who had initially backed Samak, opted for secretary-general and Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee. PPP and its coalition patners have about 300 MPs.
The group pledged their alliance to Somchai on Tuesday after days of negotiations and appeal from Thaksin, considered the real power behind PPP despite living in exile in London.
Somchai, married to Thaksin’s younger sister, Yaowapa, is a law graduate from Thammasat University and holds a masters degree in Public Administration from the National Institute of Development.
He was the Justice Ministry’s permanent secretary during the Sept 19, 2006 coup that ousted Thaksin. The soft-spoken Somchai quit his post and made his Cabinet debut when PPP won the Dec 23, 2007 election.
His elevation to the country’s top political post came just minutes before the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders began delivering its judgment in the Bt772-million Ratchadaphisek land case involving Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman.
With the country in deep political crisis, Somchai is facing the arduous task of uniting the equally divided society and restoring foreign investor confidence. His family ties with Thaksin is making his job even more difficult.
Thailand has been in political turmoil since Aug 26 when thousands of anti-government protesters under the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) seized the Prime Minister’s Office at the Government House.
Unlike his predecessor who started work at the Prime Minister’s Office and left without one in his last days in office, Somchai will get the opportunity to warm the seat as PAD remained in the Government House, forcing the new premier to run the country from a makeshift office at the Don Mueng Airport.