Samak Sundaravej was poised yesterday to return as Thailand’s prime minister two days after a court removed him from the post, angering protesters who vowed to press their campaign to oust him.
Thailand’s army issued a statement shortly after the announcement, urging both sides to compromise and saying the government should lift a state of emergency imposed across Bangkok 10 days ago.
However, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) said Samak had accepted its nomination, just two days after the Constitutional Court stripped him of his office over his hosting of TV cooking shows.
PHOTO: EPA
“Samak has accepted his nomination for prime minister,” PPP spokesman Suthin Klangsang said.
“Samak said he is confident that parliament will find him fit for office, and that he is happy to accept the post,” Suthin said.
Samak, a fiery-tongued 73-year-old, has remained out of public view since the court ruling and has yet to comment publicly on his nomination.
The decision added a new twist to Thailand’s chaotic politics and incensed protesters occupying the grounds of Government House, where a finely manicured garden has been reduced to a smelly mudpit dotted with tents and drying laundry.
“Our stand remains the same, we will not accept Samak or anyone proposed from the PPP because the party lacks legitimacy,” media mogul and protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul said.
“They violated the Constitution and lack morals,” he said.
Protesters have occupied the main government complex for more than two weeks. Samak imposed a state of emergency after the protests turned violent last week, leaving one government supporter dead and dozens of people injured after clashes in the streets.
The army in a statement urged both sides to compromise, warning that the state of emergency in Bangkok was hurting confidence in Thailand’s economy.
“The Thai army believes that to maintain state of emergency will do more harm than good,” it said. “If the state of emergency is lifted soon, that would be positive.”
“The army is ready to support the police in maintaining law and order,” it said.
The decision over whether to endorse Samak’s return as prime minister created splits within the PPP and its five coalition partners, with some factions arguing that another candidate could better withstand the protests.
Sondhi’s group of protesters, which calls itself the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), accuses Samak’s government of acting as a proxy for ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The alliance spearheaded months of protests against Thaksin in 2006, leading to a military coup by generals who accused the tycoon of widespread corruption.
Thaksin now lives in exile in Britain to evade legal charges that he says are politically motivated.
After the coup, Thaksin tapped Samak to rally his supporters, leading the PPP to victory in elections last December.
Aside from demanding Samak’s ouster, the protesters are pushing a broad agenda to scale back Thailand’s democracy by demanding a parliament in which only 30 percent of the seats are elected.
By making 70 percent of the seats appointed, they hope to weaken the voting power of Thailand’s poor but populous heartland, where Thaksin earned steadfast support by providing universal health care and low-interest loans.
“Whoever becomes prime minister now, the PAD is not going to stop,” political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said.
“They want to move away from electoral politics toward a more privileged appointment” system, he said
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