The Pheu Thai Party (PTP; th, พรรคเพื่อไทย, lit=For Thais Party, , ) is the third incarnation of a
Thai political party founded by former
prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Pheu Thai Party was founded on 20 September 2007, as an anticipated replacement for the
People's Power Party (PPP), which the
Constitutional Court of Thailand dissolved less than three months later after finding party members guilty of electoral fraud. The People's Power Party was itself a replacement for Thaksin's original
Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT), dissolved by the Court in May 2007 for violation of electoral laws. , Pheu Thai had 22,771 members.
Formation and opposition years (2008–2011)
The PPP was dissolved by the
Constitutional Court of Thailand on 2 December 2008. On 3 December 2008, the majority of the former PPP MPs defected to the Pheu Thai Party. In a PTP general assembly, the first executive commission was elected on 7 December 2008.
Candidates for the party's leader were:
Yongyuth Wichaidit,
Apiwan Wiriyachai, former Vice President of the
House of Representatives, former health minister
Chalerm Yubamrung and former industry minister
Mingkwan Saengsuwan.
Yongyuth Wichaidit was elected as the party's leader.
In a December 2008 parliamentary session, MPs of five PPP coalition parties decided to endorse
Abhisit Vejjajiva as the next prime minister and themselves forming a
Democrat-led coalition. The PTP campaigned for their endorsement by the PPP-coalition parties. However, Abhisit had gained their support for the premiership. After that, the party called for a national unity government in which all parties would be involved, with
Sanoh Thienthong of the
Pracharaj Party as the new premier. This proposal was rejected by the defecting coalition parties and the Democrat Party. On 11 December, Worrawat Eua-apinyakul, then MP for
Phrae
Phrae (; ) is a town ('' thesaban mueang'') in northern Thailand, capital of Phrae Province.
The town occupies '' tambon'' Nai Wiang of Mueang Phrae District. It has an area of nine kilometres2 and a population of 17,971 (2005). Phrae is 555 km ...
from PTP, suggested that the party should push for a house dissolution and general elections, with the hope of depriving the prospective coalition of a parliamentary majority. However, The President of the House of Representatives;
Chai Chidchob
Chai Chidchob ( th, ชัย ชิดชอบ, , ; 5 April 1929 – 24 January 2020) was President of the National Assembly of Thailand and the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 15 May 2008 to 10 May 2011.
Political career
He beg ...
spoke against the plan.
On 15 December 2008, the party elected Pracha Promnok as the party's candidate for prime minister and has since been in opposition to prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's
coalition government
A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
. As an opposition, the party received a rating of 3.75 out of 10 by a majority of respondents in a nationwide survey conducted on 24 and 25 December 2010, by
Bangkok University
University (BU; th, มหาวิทยาลัยกรุงเทพ; ), commonly known as Mo Krung Thep ( th, มอกรุงเทพ), has operated since 1962, is one of the oldest and largest private, non-profit universities in ...
.
In early May 2011,
Charupong Ruangsuwan was named new Secretary general of the party. Following the discovery of illegal timber by Thai authorities, during an August 2014 search at Charupong's son's
Mae Hong Son Province resort for buried war weapons and other illegal items, the media reported that both Charupong and his son were no longer present in Thailand.
In government (2011–2014)
In the
2011 general election, the Pheu Thai Party contested for the first time since its foundation. On 16 May, Thaksin's youngest sister
Yingluck Shinawatra
Yingluck Shinawatra ( th, ยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร, , ; ; born 21 June 1967), nicknamed Pou ( th, ปู, , , meaning "crab"), is a Thai businesswoman, politician and a member of the Pheu Thai Party who became the Pri ...
was nominated head of PTP's
party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...
and contender of prime minister Abhisit. One of her main issues in the campaign was national reconciliation. The election was expected to be a neck-and-neck contest between Pheu Thai and the ruling Democrats. Unexpectedly, the party won 265 of 500 seats in the House of Representatives on 3 July. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva acknowledged Pheu Thai's success in the election, and congratulated Yingluck Shinawatra as Thailand's first
female prime minister. Despite its absolute majority, the winning party announced that it would form a coalition government with five minor parties. On 5 August, Yingluck was elected prime minister with 296 votes in favour. The election was approved and Yingluck was formally appointed by the king on 8 August.
[ Proclamation on Appointment of Prime Minister (Yingluck Shinawatra) dated 5 August 2011]
Pheu Thai Party Prime Ministers
Election results
References
External links
Official websiteThailand's July Election: Understanding the Outcome Q&A with Catharin Dalpino (July 2011)
East Asia Forum: "The changing face of Thai populism"(June 2013)
{{Authority control
2008 establishments in Thailand
Neoliberal parties
Political parties established in 2008
Political parties in Thailand
Populist parties
Progressive parties