Thai princess apologises for 'causing problems' after brief election bid
Thailand’s Princess Ubolratana has apologised for causing “problems” for the Thai people after her attempt to run for office in next month’s election was abruptly blocked by her brother, the king.
The princess’ unprecedented prime ministerial nomination on Friday by a party allied with populist ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra rattled the Southeast Asian nation and was swiftly torpedoed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn who said it was “highly inappropriate” for royalty to enter politics.
“I am sorry my genuine intention to work for the country and Thai people has caused such problems that shouldn’t have happened in this era,” she said in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
However, she qualified her first comments on the controversy by adding the hashtag #howcomeitsthewayitis.
The princess gave up her royal titles when she married an American decades ago, but they divorced and she moved back to Thailand.
The March 24 election is set to be a showdown between supporters of the exiled former prime minister and royalist incumbent Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, 64, who has led the ruling military junta for the past five years. He is now running for the Phalang Pracharat party, a group aligned with the regime.
In a country where the royal family is revered and strictly enforced lese-majeste laws make it a criminal offence to insult the monarchy, Princess Ubolratana’s bid for the premiership could have caused a political headache for the military-backed regime’s attempts to retain power.
However, the intervention of the palace could now cause her Thai Raksa Chart party’s strategy to backfire instead.
Her public apology followed a decision by the Election Commission to drop her name from an official list of prime minister candidates.
The commission is now considering whether to dissolve the party as punishment for drawing the monarchy into politics.
The Bangkok Post reported that the alleged offence would fall under the 2018 Political Parties Act and would require a ruling by the constitutional court.
If disbanded, the party’s 13 executives would be barred from voting and running for elections either for ten years or for life. It would also mean that that none of its current candidates could run in the upcoming poll as electoral laws require membership of a party for 90 days before standing.
On Tuesday, a decision to suspend a TV channel linked to Thaksin Shinawatra fuelled fears that the junta may attempt to crack down on its opponents in the first election since a 2014 coup.
The country’s telecoms regulator suspended the operating licence of Voice TV after accusing it of airing two programmes that spread information that caused public confusion and divisiveness.
The channel is owned by two of the exiled leader’s children and has been shut down on two previous occasions, including two days before the 2014 coup.
Mekin Petchplai, its chief executive, called the order “unfair” and said the channel would appeal, reported Reuters.
“When the country is heading towards an election in a few weeks, (this) should stop because the people need quality, well-rounded news to inform their decisions on the vote," he said.
