Thai king’s sister in poll bid

bangkok — The sister of Thailand’s king entered the race to become prime minister on Friday 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 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 Chan-ocha, the leader of the ruling military junta, who also announced his candidacy on Friday. Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932 but the royal family has wielded great influence and commands the devotion of millions.

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,” Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Chulalongkorn University, told Reuters.

Ubolratana relinquished her royal titles in 1972 when she married an American, a fellow student

at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Peter Jensen. She lived in the United States for more than 26 years before they divorced in 1998. The conflict between the Bangkok-centred, royalist elites and Thaksin and his more

rural-based supporters has resulted in street protests, military coups, and violent clashes over almost 15 years.

“Previous assumptions and scenarios have to be reconsidered,” Thitinan said. “If this turns out well, it will be a process of reconciliation and unity. If this does not turn out well, it will pose alarming risk and even greater risk for Thailand’s political future.”

Thai Raksa Chart is an off-shoot of the main pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai party whose government, led by Thaksin’s sister Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted from power in 2014 in a coup led by then-army chief Prayuth. Thaksin and his party have at times been accused by enemies of being opposed to the monarchy. Thaksin and his party have always rejected that.

Pheu Thai is also fielding candidates in the election, and Thai Raksa Chart was formed by Thaksin loyalists and the core leadership of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), or “red shirts” group, as a strategy to help Pheu Thai win seats, or to act as a back-up if the main party was disqualified.

“The party has nominated the princess as its sole candidate,” Thai Raksa Chart Party leader Preechapol Pongpanich told reporters at the Election Commission. Ubolratana is running for prime minister but not a seat in parliament, which is allowed under the election law.

Meanwhile, King Vajiralongkorn on Friday called his elder sister’s bid to run for prime minister “inappropriate” and unconstitutional, likely sinking her candidacy for a populist opposition party. The opposition from Ubolratana’s younger brother, a constitutional monarch, is likely to lead to the Election Commission disqualifying her.

“Involvement of a high-ranking member of the royal family in politics, in whatever way, is an act that conflicts with the country’s traditions, customs, and culture, and therefore considered extremely inappropriate,” the king said in a statement.

King Vajiralongkorn also cited a provision in the constitution that states the monarch stays above politics and maintains political neutrality. “All royal family members adhere to the same principles ...and cannot take any political office, because it contradicts the intention of the constitution.”—

Involvement of a high-ranking member of the royal family in politics, in whatever way, is an act that conflicts with the country’s traditions, customs, and culture, and therefore considered extremely inappropriate

Maha Vajiralongkorn, Thai King