According to his daughter, self-exiled former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra intends to return to the nation on Tuesday as the nation struggles to break out of a political impasse following a May national election.
The former mogul of telecoms, who served as president from 2001 until his overthrow in a coup in 2006, now lives in self-imposed exile after escaping Thailand in 2008 to escape a jail term for corruption.
Upon his return, he would still be sentenced to prison.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the youngest child of Thaksin, wrote on social media on Saturday that she would meet her father on “Tuesday, August 22” at Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport.
Tuesday will also see the Pheu Thai Party, which receives support from Thaksin, propose another prime ministerial vote.
Thaksin had already postponed his homecoming from Aug. 10 due to the requirement for a medical examination.
He still has a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Upon his return, the 74-year-old will be tried in court, according to Surachate Hakparn, deputy chief of the national police.
According to some commentators, Thaksin’s return indicates Pheu Thai has reached an agreement with political parties about the formation of a government after winning support from parties with military backing.
Thanaporn Sriyakul, chair of the Political Science Association of Kasetsart University, said Thaksin’s homecoming on election day “shows that he is confident that Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidate will be elected in one round.”
Following the failure of the leader of the election-winning Move Forward party to become prime minister this month, the second-placed Pheu Thai party assumed control of efforts to form a government.
Srettha Thavisin’s nomination by Pheu Thai must receive the support of more than half of the bicameral legislature, including the military-nominated Senate.
After a politician from a different military-backed party declared they would support Pheu Thai in breaking the impasse, the party received support from that group on Thursday.
