With the Thak Raksa Chart party that nominated her facing dissolution, the Thai princess yesterday apologized after her short-lived candidacy for prime minister earned a royal rebuke from her brother — the king — and sent jitters across the politically febrile country just weeks before elections.
Fourteen executives from the board of the princess’s erstwhile party, meanwhile, plan to resign their posts in a bid to make sure the party remains viable in the aftermath of the failed nomination, Bangkok Insight reported yesterday. One board member, Rungrueng Pittayasiri, already handed his resignation to the Election Committee on Monday.
Thailand has been mired in political drama since Friday, when Princess Ubolratana’s name was submitted as a prime ministerial candidate by the Thai Raksa Chart Party.
The party is allied with the powerful Shinawatra clan, which has won every election since 2001, but whose patron, the billionaire ex-premier Thaksin, lives in self-exile to avoid jail.
Ubolratana’s unprecedented bid to enter frontline politics unraveled within hours after King Maha Vajiralongkorn decried the entry of a royal into the political fray as “highly inappropriate.”
Thailand’s monarchy is seen as above politics, although royals have intervened during times of political crisis.
The princess was disqualified as a prime ministerial candidate by the Election Commission on Monday, which cited the royal command. It is now discussing whether to refer Thai Raksa Chart to the constitutional court for dissolution.
In an Instagram post late Tuesday, the 67-year-old princess apologized for her role in the drama.
“I’m sorry that my genuine intention to help work for the country and fellow Thai people has created a problem that shouldn’t happen in this era,” she wrote.
It was accompanied by the hashtag: “#howcomeitsthewayitis.”
Her Instagram post was largely met with support and encouragement from netizens — though it’s fair to note that Thailand is still tip-toeing around the issue due to the kingdom’s lese majeste law. While it doesn’t technically apply to her, critics say it has been loosely interpreted in the past.
“You have my support na ka,” wrote several netizens.
เป็นกำลังใจให้พระองค์เสมอเพคะ ❤🙏❤#howcomeitsthewayitis #ทรงพระสเลนเดอร์ #เลือกตั้ง62 #ทรงพระเจริญ pic.twitter.com/mQEir6X8EO
— WEEWEE (@WEEWEE20334109) February 13, 2019
“Reading the comments and reply on her latest IG post makes me want to cry,” wrote another, who apparently got emotional over the decision.
อ่าน comment และ reply โพสต์ล่าสุดใน IG ของทูลกระหม่อมฯ แล้วจะร้องไห้ตาม ฮืออออออ#ทรงพระสเลนเดอร์
— นรัญธกรนอนสองทุ่ม (@BoomNarun) February 13, 2019
Ubolratana is the first-born of former King Bhumibol Adulyadej, but gave up her royal titles when she married an American in 1972.
After her divorce, she moved back to Thailand, where she is regarded by the Thai public as a part of the royal family.
While she said she was simply exercising her rights as a commoner to stand for premier, the palace statement said she is “still a member of the House of Chakri,” referring to the name of the dynasty.
The monarchy in Thailand is considered sacred and revered by its people, and the king’s word is considered final.
The scuttling of her candidacy and potential moves to dissolve the Thai Raksa Chart party is a blow to Thaksin Shinawatra’s political machine.
The party was set to add to the vote bank of the bigger Shinawatra electoral vehicle, Pheu Thai, in an election where secondary parties are targeting seats via the party list system.
Thaksin and his sister Yingluck — who was overthrown in the 2014 coup — live abroad to avoid convictions they say are politically motivated.
Junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who toppled Yingluck’s government, is running for prime minister in the March 24 poll.
Party executives from Thai Raksa Chart have expressed contrition after the upheaval, but said they would challenge any attempt to disband the party.
A media organization affiliated with the Shinawatras was also in the crosshairs this week.
Voice TV, owned by Thaksin’s son Ponthongtae, was ordered Tuesday by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to go off-air for 15 days after two of its programs caused “confusion and provocation.”
Additional reporting by Coconuts Bangkok
