Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to return to the kingdom on Tuesday, the same day as a key parliamentary vote, which could end a political deadlock, his daughter said.
The 74-year-old billionaire was ousted in a 2006 military coup and has spent 15 years in self-exile.
Thaksin has long said he wanted to return home, but faces multiple criminal charges that he says are politically motivated.
Photo: AFP
“On Tuesday, August 22, 9 am I will pick up my father Thaksin at Don Muang Airport,” his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who is one of the Pheu Thai Party’s candidates for prime minister, said on Instagram.
His return would coincide with an afternoon vote on whether to approve Srettha Thavisin — from the Thaksin-linked Pheu Thai Party — as prime minister and end months of political uncertainty since a general election in May.
To become prime minister, Srettha needs to muster a majority across the lower house of 500 lawmakers, and the 250-member senate that was handpicked by the kingdom’s last junta.
The progressive Move Forward Party won the most parliamentary seats in the election but the senate blocked its leader from becoming prime minister, after being spooked by a controversial policy to reform the kingdom’s harsh royal insult laws.
Pheu Thai came second in the race and has been trying to form a government.
While he is long been a divisive figure, political analysts do not expect Thaksin’s presence to cause any protests.
“I think Thai people have moved on from Thaksin,” political analyst Verapat Pariyawong said.
Verapat expects Thaksin would likely be taken to court upon arrival.
“His return means that he is confident that when he lands in Thailand he won’t be a victim of political games and that the steps are there to make sure he is in a comfortable position,” Verapat said. “The real question is whether he will actually come back, And if yes, where did he get that assurance from?”
Thaksin said on social media days before the May election that he would return to Thailand “before my birthday” last month because he was getting old and wanted to spend time with his grandchildren.
He has lived in self-exile, mostly in Dubai, since 2008 and he regularly addresses supporters on the Clubhouse social media platform using the alias Tony Woodsome.
Thaksin previously slated a return to Bangkok on Thursday last week, but postponed citing a medical appointment.
Political analyst Yuttaporn Issarachai said there had long been rumours about his return and still no guarantees it would happen this time.
“I give it a 50-50 chance,” Yuttaporn said, adding that his return might cause distress among the senators.
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