Royal to stand for Thailand PM

UNPRECEDENTED: SISTER OF NATION’S KING IN RUNNING

‘This is a profound development that will shape the contours of Thai politics.’

The sister of Thailand’s king entered the race to become prime minister yesterday as the candidate of a populist party, an unprecedented foray into politics by a royal that instantly upended the first election since a 2014 military coup.

Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi, 67, the elder sister of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, was nominated by a party loyal to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the figure at the centre of political turbulence and rival street protests that have riven Thai society for years.

One of her chief opponents in the March 24 election will be Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha, the leader of the ruling military junta, who also announced his candidacy yesterday.

Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932 but the royal family has wielded great influence and commands the devotion of millions.

It was not immediately clear whether the nomination of Ubolratana, who has starred in Thai soap operas and lived in California for years, had the approval of King Vajiralongkorn.

The nomination of a member of the royal family by the pro-Thaksin Thai Raksa Chart party could transform an election that had been viewed as a straightforward battle between Thaksin’s populists and their allies, on the one hand, and the royalist-military establishment on the other.

“This is a profound development that will shape the contours and dynamics of Thai politics before and after the election. Thai Raksa Chart is a leading contender now,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst.

Ubolratana relinquished her royal titles in 1972 when she married an American, a fellow student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Peter Jensen. She lived in the United States for more than 26 years before they divorced in 1998. – Reuters