Thai Raksa Chart

Thai court dissolves Thai Raksa Chart

A key party linked to Thailand's powerful Shinawatra clan was dissolved Thursday by a court, just weeks before a general election, over its ill-starred bid to front a princess as a candidate for premier.Thai Raksa Chart, which is tied to ex-premiers Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, proposed Princess Ubolratana as its prime ministerial candidate if its bloc emerged with a lower house majority after the 24 March election.It was an unprecedented move in a constitutional monarchy where royal

8 March 2019
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Thai Junta chief's bid for PM still intact

Junta chief Prayut Chan-o-cha's grip on power was tossed into doubt by the political cameo of a princess, but a week later his ambitions to rebrand as a civilian leader appear back on track, a survivor – for now – of Thailand's treacherous politics.Princess Ubolratana's candidacy for premier for a party aligned with billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, appeared to have kicked over a totem of Thai politics: that the military alone is the unassailable partner of the monarch

16 February 2019
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Court to hear case against Thai Raksa Chart

Thailand's constitutional court on Thursday said it would hear a case to dissolve the party which proposed a princess for prime minister, an ill-fated candidacy which threatens to sink the election strategy of the powerful Shinawatra clan.The Thai Raksa Chart party nominated Princess Ubolratana for premier last Friday, a bombshell move bringing Thai royalty to frontline politics for the first time since the 1932 establishment of a constitutional monarchy.Hours later the princess's b

15 February 2019
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Thailand may dissolve party linked to princess

Thailand's election commission on Wednesday asked the constitutional court to dissolve a party that proposed a princess as candidate for prime minister, a potentially serious blow to the political aspirations of the kingdom's powerful Shinawatra clan.Junta-ruled Thailand has sunk into political chaos since Friday, when Princess Ubolratana's name was submitted by Thai Raksa Chart, a party allied with the divisive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.Her unprecedented bid to

14 February 2019
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Thaksin turns campaign to Thai economy

Allies of Thailand’s exiled former leader Thaksin Shinawatra are seeking to woo voters with a plan to revive economic growth after a failed bid to run King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s sister as a prime minister candidate in next month’s election.Kittiratt Na Ranong, a former finance minister and deputy leader of Pheu Thai – one of several parties backed by Thaksin along with Thai Raksa Chart – said his colleagues are “going forward in full gear” ahead of the 24 March vote.

13 February 2019
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Army-aligned party says its respectful of Thai law

Opponents of the Shinawatra political clan campaigned triumphantly in the Thai capital on Sunday, after a weekend of high political drama when a Thai princess' bid to be premier provoked a rare royal rebuke.Thai Princess Ubolratana's unprecedented attempt to become prime minister of Thailand was scuttled after her party agreed to comply with a command from her brother King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Friday, opposing her move to contest the upcoming election.The Thai Raksa Chart party, a

11 February 2019
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Royal command ends Thai princess’ bid for PM

Thai Princess Ubolratana's unprecedented attempt to become the country's next prime minister was abruptly nixed Saturday after her party agreed to comply with a command from the king opposing the plan.The party's announcement effectively blocking Ubolratana's candidacy came after an extraordinary rebuke by her brother King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and removes a hurdle for the ruling junta to hold onto power after the 24 March – the first since a 2014 coup.The Thai Raksa Chart

10 February 2019
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