Thai parliament elects Anutin Charnvirakul as prime minister

Anutin Charnvirakul, the leader of the conservative Bhumjaithai party, was chosen as Thailand’s parliament’s prime minister.

Anutin will succeed Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, who was fired from office last month due to an ethics scandal.

With the support of the liberal People’s Party, Anutin defeated Chaikasem Nitisiri, the populist candidate for Pheu Thai.

Anutin promised to call a general election within four months, giving the largest party in the 500-seat parliament the backing it had.

The Bhumjaithai leader was confirmed to have received more than 247 votes, the 492 active members’ majority, while counting and voting were still being conducted.

After the vote is over, his final score must be verified. In a few days, he and his government are scheduled to take office, according to King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s official announcement.

The Shinawatra clan, a force in Thai politics for the past 20 years, is dealt yet another blow by Veteran Anutin’s election.

Their populist movement has long been at odds with the pro-military, pro-monarchy establishment, but it has been increasingly detested by legal and political obstacles.

In the hours leading up to the vote on Friday, Thaksin Shinawatra, the dynasty’s patriarch, flew out of Thailand and headed for Dubai.

Anutin once supported the Pheu Thai coalition, but he abruptly gave up in the wake of Paetongtarn’s actions during a border dispute with neighboring Cambodia.