Thai Ruling Party Re-nominates Samak for Prime Minister

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By SUTIN WANNABOVORN / AP WRITER Thursday, September 11, 2008

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BANGKOK — Thailand's ruling party endorsed ousted leader Samak Sundaravej to return as prime minister Thursday despite misgivings by some of its coalition partners, intensifying the country's political deadlock

A two-hour meeting of Samak's People's Power Party ended with him being chosen as its prime ministerial candidate, said party spokesman Kuthep Saikrajang.


Thailand's ousted Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej tours a fresh market before holding his cabinet meeting on Tuesday in Udon Thani province, about 580 km (360 miles) east of Bangkok. (Photo: Reuters)
"A majority of the party members voted to reappoint (Samak) to be the prime minister as he is the leader of our party. So he is the best choice," Kuthep told reporters.

Samak was forced out of office Tuesday by a Constitutional Court ruling that found he had violated the constitution by being paid to host television cooking shows while in office. Since then the People's Power Party and its five coalition partners have been running a caretaker government.

"I thank the party for nominating me," Samak told reporters Thursday. "I am accepting the nomination in order to protect democracy in the country."

Samak's ouster was the latest political embarrassment for Thailand, where anti-government protesters have occupied the prime minister's office compound since Aug. 26. Protesters initially demanded Samak's resignation and now say they'll stay put until a suitable replacement is appointed.

Samak's re-nomination, however, was not endorsed wholeheartedly by the other five parties, leaving the country mired in a political deadlock that has raised fears of instability, economic chaos and even a military coup.

Some of the coalition partners said they accepted the People's Power Party's right to nominate Samak, but didn't necessarily agree with the choice.

"We honor the core party's nomination, but we think the new prime minister should be someone who can help resolve the political crisis," Somsak Prisana-anantakul of Chart Thai Party, the second-largest party in the coalition, told a joint news conference by representatives of all six parties in the coalition.

The ruling party's vote does not automatically make Samak the prime minister. The nomination will be tested by a vote Friday in the 480-seat Parliament, where the People's Power Party has 223 seats, 17 short of a majority.

The other five parties in the coalition control 83 seats while the opposition Democrat Party has 165 seats. The remaining seats are vacant.

"You will see in Parliament tomorrow whether people vote for me or not," Samak said.

The coalition partners refused to say if they will vote for Samak. There also were signs that the coalition would try to persuade the People's Power Party to nominate someone else by Friday.

The joint news conference came hours after Thailand's army chief urged all political parties to form a government of national unity.

He also urged the caretaker government to lift a state of emergency that Samak had imposed Sept. 2.

"It is time to lift the state of emergency," army commander Gen. Anupong Paochinda told reporters, saying he had conveyed that view to the interim leaders. "Keeping it in place will damage the country's economy."

Anupong's comments were likely to fuel speculation of a possible coup to end the crisis, despite his repeated denials of any military intervention.

"A national unity government is the best way to end the ongoing political crisis," Anupong said. "Politicians should sacrifice personal interests ... for the sake of peace and national interests."

Democracy in Thailand has been interrupted by 18 military coups since the country became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.

The most recent was in 2006, when the army ousted then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who recently fled to Britain to escape corruption charges.

The anti-Samak protesters, known as the People's Alliance for Democracy, call Samak a puppet of Thaksin and accuse him of running the government as a proxy for Thaksin while he is in exile. Thaksin's ouster came after months of street protests by the same alliance.

In the end, it was not the protesters that brought down the 73-year-old Samak.
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