Edict bars royal from making bid for elective office

BANGKOK — A Thai political party swore loyalty to the king Saturday, a day after its stunning decision to nominate the monarch’s sister as its candidate for prime minister backfired when the king called the move inappropriate and unconstitutional.

The statement of fealty comes as the country ponders a Friday whirlwind in which Princess Ubolratana Mahidol broke with tradition proscribing the monarchy’s involvement with politics to become a candidate for the Thai Raksa Chart Party, only to have her brother, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, invalidate her action with a late night order.

Thai Raksa Chart’s statement said the party loyally accepted the king’s order and expressed deep gratitude to Ubolratana for her kindness toward the party.

Ubolratana, who is active on Instagram, did not directly mention the king’s order in a Saturday message, merely thanking people for their support and encouragement and insisting on her sincere desire to see Thailand progress with rights and opportunities for all its people.

Thailand’s March 24 election will be the country’s first since a 2014 military coup put in place a junta determined to reshape the political system to eradicate the influence of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose allies have won every national election since 2001.

So it was not only a shock that Ubolratana was formally entering politics, but also that she was doing so in alliance with a Thaksin-backed party. Her candidacy would have pitted her against the junta leader and current Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the preferred choice for premier of the pro-royalist military.

Thaksin was ousted by the military in a 2006 coup, and the country’s establishment has spent more than a decade trying to neuter his political machine through court rulings, constitutional rewrites and other changes to the electoral system.

Thaksin remains wildly popular with the country’s rural majority, who were drawn to his populist policies such as universal health care and rice subsidies and were willing to overlook accusations that he was enriching himself while in office. But Thaksin’s popularity made the country’s Bangkok-based establishment uneasy and some saw his standing as a threat to the monarchy itself.

Thaksin went into exile in 2008 to avoid serving prison time on a conflict of interest conviction he insists was political.

Grant Peck is an Associated Press writer.

Associated Press 2017 Princess Ubolratana Mahidol greets Thais in Bangkok in 2017. She sought to enter the race for prime minister Friday, but her brother, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, invalidated her bid.