AFP
Thailand: Thaksin Shinawatra back to face justice, before a vote to appoint the Prime Minister
Former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, a figure as divisive as he is popular, returned to Thailand on Tuesday after 15 years abroad to evade justice, hours before a new vote for prime minister. The 74-year-old billionaire jet , in power between 2001 and 2006 before being overthrown in a coup, landed around 09:00 (02:00 GMT) at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok, according to images from public television. He bowed to a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, in front of which he laid a garland of flowers as a mark of respect, then greeted the hundreds of red-clad supporters who waited for him with flags and songs. Escorted by police, the telecom mogul , sentenced by custom to ten years in prison in several trials relating to his management of the country and his affairs, was immediately taken to the Supreme Court, with a view to being placed in detention. His return coincides with the vote in the Parliament, expected in the afternoon, to appoint a Prime Minister, three months after the legislative elections of May 14 which inflicted a scathing setback on the generals in power for almost ten years. The only candidate for the post, under the banner of he opposition party associated with the Shinawatra family, Srettha Thavisin presents himself at the head of a controversial coalition mixing pro-democracy and pro-army formations, which must bring together a torn kingdom. This alliance, without Move Forward winner of the polls , allows the maintenance of the government of the soldiers who, in exchange, would have tolerated the return of Thaksin, their former pet peeve, according to a secret pact which is the subject of speculation in the country. The former owner of the Manchester football club City has polarized political life for more than twenty years between the “reds” (its supporters) and the “yellows” (conservatives loyal to the monarchy). “The day you’ve been waiting for has finally come,” his sister Yingluck Shinawatra wrote on Tuesday. , another former Prime Minister, on his Facebook page, before take-off in Singapore. – Controversial coalition – The charismatic businessman, last seen in Thailand in 2008, said he was ready to face justice in order to stay with his family. All smiles, he found his three children and seven grandchildren in a VIP lounge at the airport, according to a photo posted on Instagram by his daughter Paetongtarn. “My father has arrived in Thailand safely and started the legal process. Thank you for all the support,” she wrote. military-royalist elites. Abroad, he remained an influential player behind the scenes, via his family-controlled Pheu Thai party, which continues to capitalize on Thaksin’s popularity in the northern and northeast countryside, even if the last ballot showed signs of its breathlessness. Coming from this movement, Srettha Thavisin, whose profile as a businessman fuels comparisons with Thaksin, is running before the deputies and senators to become Prime Minister. rejected in July Pita Limjaroenrat, winner of the poll with the Move Forward party, because of his program of reforms deemed too radical vis-à-vis the monarchy. Parliament opened the session at 10:00 a.m. (03:00 GMT), but the vote to designate Prayut Chan-O-Cha’s successor is not expected before 3 p.m. the conservative establishment, by forming an eleven-party coalition that includes pro-army formations from the outgoing government. But this union betrayed its promise never to unite with the military, and angered some of his supporters who, like the majority of Thais, voted to oust them from power. – The novice Srettha – The military carried out two coups against prime ministers from the Shinawatra family, Thaksin in 2006, and his sister Yingluck in 2014, the last elected civilian leader to date. The two camps have come together with a view to favoring the return of Thaksin, which materialized after numerous announcements without effect. Move Forward, former partner of Pheu Thai, retse in the opposition. Srettha Thavisin, novice in politics, assured that he was not going to touch the law on lèse-majesté, a taboo subject in Thailand where the king enjoys of a status of quasi-divinity. The real estate magnate, 60, prefers issues related to poverty and inequality, highlighting his experience in business. Thailand, lacking structural reforms, displays a lower growth rate than its Indonesian or Vietnamese neighbours, and suffers from the uncertainties linked to its political future. Srettha needs to win the majority of votes in both chambers, in this case 500 elected deputies and 250 senators appointed by the army. If he has the support of a majority of deputies, his appointment requires the rallying of around sixty senators.tp-ah-tak/roc
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