Thailand will hold a general election on March 24, for the first time after the military coup in 2014. The election commission on Wednesday asked the constitutional court to dissolve a party that proposed a princess as candidate for prime minister, a potentially serious blow to the political aspirations of the kingdom's powerful Shinawatra clan.
Princess Ubolratana apologised late night on Tuesday, saying she is sorry that her sincere intention to work for the nation caused problems. Thailand has been in a political chaos of sorts since Friday when Princess Ubolratana's name was submitted by Thai Raksa Chart The party is allied with the divisive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Ubolratana announced her decision to enter politics and hours later, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, the 67-year-old Ubolratana's younger brother, decried the entry of a royal into the political fray as "highly inappropriate". Thailand's powerful and vastly wealthy monarchy is seen as above politics, although royals have intervened before during times of political crisis.
A constitutional monarchy since 1932, Thailand's royal family wields great influence and commands widespread devotion with the king considered to be semi-divine.
The commission filed a request with the constitutional court to disband Thai Raksa Chart for breaching the political parties law by bringing a royal family member into politics.
"That action is considered hostile to the constitutional monarchy," it said.
When the divorced princess entered politics briefly, analysts were left open-jawed by the rare sight of palace intrigue playing out in public. Ubolratana is the first-born of former king Bhumibol Adulyadej, but she gave up her royal titles when she married an American in 1972. After her divorce she moved back to Thailand, where she is still regarded by the Thai public as a part of the royal family.
While she said she was exercising her rights as a commoner to stand for premier, the palace statement last week said she is "still a member of the House of Chakri", referring to the name of the dynasty.
However, it is not clear whether or not the court will rule dissolution of the party before the elections. The dissolution could mean that the party's executives—including Shinawatra family members—could face a long political ban, while its candidates would be unable to run in the poll.
The party said it will contest the move. That would benefit the army-linked party Phalang Pracharat and increase the likelihood of its prime ministerial candidate, junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha, of returning to power as a civilian leader.
"Our party will go ahead (with campaigning) we are the hope of ... our people," party leader Preechaphol Pongpanit said, adding that they were "stunned" by how swiftly events had unfolded over the past few days. in an election where secondary parties are targeting seats via the party list system, Thailand remains a deeply divided kingdom.
Parties affiliated with Thaksin have won every election since 2001, but their governments have been battered by two coups and a barrage of court cases driven through by an arch-royalist Bangkok-based elite.
Thaksin and his sister Yingluck both live abroad to avoid convictions they say are politically motivated. The ruling junta of Thailand scripted a new constitution to offset electoral dominance of Thaskin and his sister Yingluck—both live abroad to avoid convictions that say they are politically motivated. The new constitution ensures that the upper house is entirely appointed, while limiting the number of constituency seats available at the March poll.
