Thavisin – who still needs to be endorsed by King Maha Vajirilongkorn before he can officially take office – later vowed to work on improving the lives of Thais across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI feel greatly honored to be elected as the 30th prime minister of Thailand. I would like to thank every Thai, coalition parties, honorable members of the House of Representatives, every senator who joined the vote today. I will try my best in doing my duties tirelessly to elevate Thais\u2019 lives,\u201d Thavisin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A political newbie with a track record in business, Srettha joined Pheu Thai in 2022 before being named one of the party\u2019s three prime ministerial candidates ahead of the election in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That poll was won by a popular progressive party<\/a>, Move Forward, which had proposed radical reforms to capitalize on years of rising anger with how Thailand is governed. However, its efforts to form a government were later stymied<\/a> by the kingdom\u2019s political elites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pheu Thai came second but led efforts to form a new alliance after parliament blocked Move Forward\u2019s leader<\/a> from becoming prime minister over the party\u2019s pledge to amend Thailand\u2019s strict royal defamation laws, known as Article 112.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a bid to secure the needed votes, Pheu Thai struck a deal with its former military rivals and in doing so reneged on a promise that it would not work with pro-military parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a> Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra returns to a politically divided Thailand after 15 years of self-exile<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pheu Thai also campaigned on keeping the military out of politics, but under the new alliance the military-backed Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation Party will be awarded ministerial roles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both those parties are affiliated with coup leader and outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha, and linked to the military junta that toppled Pheu Thai\u2019s democratically elected government, led by Thaksin\u2019s sister Yingluck Shinawatra, nearly a decade ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The move also subverts the will of millions of Thais who voted for progressive parties in the May election, delivering a powerful rebuke to the country\u2019s military-backed establishment that has ruled Thailand since the 2014 coup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With Move Forward now in the opposition, the formation of the new government is likely to add fuel to the fire of the progressive movement\u2019s young support base<\/a> with the potential for mass street protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A survey by the National Institute of Development Administration found about 64% of 1,310 respondents disagreed or totally disagreed with the idea of the Pheu Thai party forming a \u201cgovernment with military-backed rivals,\u201d according to Reuters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The return of Thaksin, a deeply divisive figure who was ousted in a 2006 military coup, now adds a further layer of uncertainty into this febrile political atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite his physical absence from the country, Thaksin has retained an outsized influence on Thai politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until this year, political parties allied to Thaksin had won the most seats in every election since 2001, but have struggled to hold on to power due to the military exerting its influence, whether through coups or other means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a> Thai parliament blocks election-winner’s bid to become prime minister<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/230822112943-thaksin-shinawatra-bangkok-arrival-0822.jpg?c=16x9&q=h_144,w_256,c_fill\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"BANGKOK,](\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/230713091129-02-pita-limjaroenrat.jpg?c=16x9&q=h_144,w_256,c_fill\")
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