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Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin’s daughter ready to lead government

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Thailand’s younger generation chooses former Prime Minister Thaksin’s daughter to be the new head of government over Prayut Chan-ochi

According to an opinion poll, the youngest daughter of billionaire former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra remains the top candidate to be Thailand’s next leader, winning more than twice as many votes as incumbent and closest rival Prayut Chan-ocha.

Paetongtharn Chinnawat, 36, whose father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck led popularly elected governments in Thailand that were overthrown in coups, was the top choice for 34 percent of respondents in a National Institute for Development Administration (NIDA) poll.

Support for Paetongtharn rose sharply from 21.6 percent in the September poll, when most respondents were undecided. NIDA polled 2,000 people of voting age between Dec. 17 and 22.

According to the Election Commission, Thailand is scheduled to hold elections by next May, but a date has not yet been set.

Better known by the nickname “Ung Ing,” Paetongtharn is the leader of the Phua Thai Party, which has not yet named her as its candidate for prime minister. Chinnawat’s name has become attractive in Thai elections since 2001, synonymous with populist politics that won Thaksin, Yingluck and their allies tens of millions of votes from the rural poor and urban working class in elections from 2001 to 2011.

NIDA poll respondents who supported Paetongtharn said it was due to “her party’s policies and the previous achievements of the Chinnawat family.”

Paetongtharn Chinnawat, 36, the youngest daughter of billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Chinnawat, attends the Pheu Thai Party press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 6, 2022.

Prayuth’s rating also rose to 14.05% from 10.1%, according to NIDA. He has been in power since 2014, when as head of the army he led a coup against the Yingluck-led government.

Thaksin and Yingluck are in self-imposed exile to avoid prison sentences handed down by the courts during military rule.

Pita Limjaroenrath, leader of the opposition Forward Movement party, came in third in the poll with 13.25 percent, while 8.25 percent of those polled are still undecided.

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