BANGKOK/NONTHABURI (Thailand) – Less than two weeks after giving birth, Ms Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the scion of one of Thailand’s most politically powerful families, bounded up the campaign stage on Friday to rally support for her Pheu Thai Party, the front runner in Sunday’s election.
“If Pheu Thai forms the government, we will create opportunities for the whole country,” she declared at the Impact Arena stadium just outside Bangkok, cheered on by thousands of red-shirted supporters who had gathered for their party’s last major rally before voting begins.
Up until then, the 36-year-old Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate had been limited to giving rally speeches by video conference while recovering after childbirth.
“We have been ousted twice,” she said, in reference to the military coup in 2014 that ousted the Pheu Thai government, and the one in 2006 which threw out the administration run by the Thai Rak Thai party, its predecessor.
But she stressed that the party had never given up fighting alongside the people, and appealed again for voters to give it a big majority to surmount a parliamentary system skewed in favour of military-linked parties.
In the heart of Bangkok, meanwhile, caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha urged voters to return him to power during a 5,000-strong rally at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.
“We have to join hands and move forward together... we will not let anyone destroy the foundation and roots of our country,” he said, maintaining the party’s nationalistic rhetoric and warning that the changes championed by rival parties will weaken the nation.
He finished by telling the crowd: “If you vote for me to be PM, I will work for you. Don’t let me fight this fight alone.”
The day before, the 69-year-old said that he would “return home and take a rest” if his United Thai Nation Party (UTN) failed to win enough seats to form a government and secure his premiership.
The former army chief, who led the 2014 coup, is allowed by law to stay on only up till 2025 if he becomes prime minister again.
He joined UTN only in January, shortly after falling out with the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), another military-linked party now led by caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan.
The conservative UTN has urged Thailand’s electorate of 52 million to protect the monarchy and existing social order, which some claim are being threatened by young voters increasingly turning towards the Move Forward Party (MFP).
Led by 42-year-old Pita Limjaroenrat, MFP wants to end military conscription, amend the country’s lese majeste law, and dismantle the oligarchies that dominate the Thai economy.
While analysts expect voting on Sunday to be an orderly affair, uncertainty clouds the post-election period.
Ms Paetongtarn’s father, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted from the premiership by the 2006 coup, and lives in self-imposed exile in Dubai to evade a graft-related jail sentence.
Her aunt, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, was unseated by a court ruling shortly before her Pheu Thai government was ousted by the 2014 coup. She, too, lives in self-exile abroad.
On Tuesday, Thaksin tweeted that he was “seeking permission” to return to Thailand to see his grandchildren, and that he wants to return before his next birthday, in July. Although Pheu Thai has distanced itself from the comments, Thaksin remains an influential figure within the party, and his statement has fuelled speculation about possible backroom deals that would allow him to return to Thailand without setting foot in jail.
It was the prospect of an amnesty for Thaksin in 2013 that set off the unrest leading to the 2014 coup, although army chief Narongphan Jitkaewthae ruled out another coup when quizzed by reporters on Thursday.
On Friday, Ms Paetongtarn said Thaksin had told her that he would be willing to give a Pheu Thai government advice even from jail if he returns.
There are still concerns that conservative factions would attempt to use the courts to dissolve or disqualify rival parties after the election.
Political activist and PPRP candidate Ruangkrai Leekitwattana on Wednesday petitioned the election commission to investigate Mr Pita, for allegedly owning shares illegally in a now-defunct media company.
Mr Pita has explained that he owns the shares only as an executor of his late father’s will.
