Thai Prime Minister joins new party to seek another term

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha formally joined Ruam Thai Sang Chart, or the United Thai Nation Party with which he is likely to seek another term this year

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has broken with the military-backed political party that helped him take office after a 2019 general election and joined a new rival party on Monday with which he is likely to seek another term this year.

Prayuth first seized power as army chief in a 2014 military coup and then became Prime Minister in a military government. He did not run in the 2019 election but was the prime ministerial candidate of the Palang Pracharath Party, which put together a post-election coalition that named him to the nation’s top political post.

On Monday, Prayuth formally joined Ruam Thai Sang Chart, or the United Thai Nation Party, which held its first meeting in August last year. The move had its roots in an often denied but barely concealed rift between him and Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, a close military comrade for decades who became leader of the Palang Pracharath Party in 2020.

Their political falling out became clear when Palang Pracharath announced that Prawit would be its candidate for Prime Minister in this year’s general election, which must be held by May.

Prawit is widely seen as harboring ambitions for the top job and seemed visibly energized last year while serving as acting prime minister when Prayuth was temporarily suspended for legal reasons.

Prayuth gave a speech Monday at a campaign-style rally in Bangkok in which he said the main reason he was joining a new party was that “Thailand must continue to move forward.”

“I have been thinking how I could continue to solve the country’s problems. I can’t do this alone. I need a team, I need to work with what you call a political party,“ Prayuth told thousands of supporters wearing blue, red and white shirts, the colors of Thailand’s flag.