Thailand’s parliament voted on Friday for Paetongtarn Shinawatra to become the country’s youngest prime minister, thrusting another member of the kingdom’s most famed and divisive political dynasty into the top job.
The vote to install the 37-year-old daughter of ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra came two days after Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed another prime minister from office, in a surprise decision that plunged the kingdom into further political uncertainty and raised fresh concern over the erosion of democratic rights.
Paetongtarn won 319 votes in the House of Representatives, after being nominated as the sole candidate by her Pheu Thai party’s ruling coalition to replace outgoing prime minister Srettha Thavisin.
She still needs to be endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn before she can officially take office and appoint a Cabinet.
Thaksin is one of Thailand’s most influential figures: his economic and populist policies enabled him to build a political machine that has dominated the country’s politics for the past two decades despite his ouster in a 2006 coup.
His youngest daughter will be Thailand’s second woman prime minister, after her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra – Thaksin’s sister.
Speaking to reporters Friday at her party headquarters in Bangkok, Paetongtarn thanked her supporters and said she felt “honored” by the decision.
“I will do my best in this position,” she said.
READ ALSO: Thailand court removes Prime Minister Thavisin from office
A political newcomer, Paetongtarn was one of three prime ministerial candidates for Pheu Thai ahead of national elections in May last year and made international headlines when she gave birth just two weeks before the vote.
Her appointment adds another twist to a years-long saga that has shaken up Thailand’s already-turbulent political landscape.
Srettha’s dismissal on Wednesday was the latest blow to the Thaksin-backed Pheu Thai, which has frequently run afoul of Thailand’s conservative establishment – a small but powerful clique of military, royalist and business elites.
Political parties allied to Thaksin have struggled to hold on to power, having been forced out due to coups or court decisions.
Paetongtarn’s aunt was removed from office before the military seized power in a 2014 coup, and her father went into self-imposed exile in 2006 for more than 15 years to escape corruption charges after the military toppled his government.
Her uncle Somchai Wongsawat was briefly prime minister in 2008 but was removed in a court ruling.
In navigating a febrile political atmosphere while heading an 11-member coalition, Paetongtarn also inherits a host of challenges, including fixing Thailand’s sluggish economy and reviving Pheu Thai’s sliding popularity.
The party’s flagship digital wallet cash handout scheme has faced multiple delays and it’s unclear to what extent she will continue Srettha’s key economic policies.
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