Thailand’s Thaksin to return home after 15 years in exile, daughter says

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will return from 15 years of self-exile next month, his daughter said Wednesday, amid a political impasse that has gripped the country since the May general election.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, one of the Pheu Thai Party’s three prime ministerial candidates, said her father would return to the country in about two weeks.

“I don’t quite believe what I am writing but my father is coming back on Aug. 10 to Don Mueang Airport,” Paetongtarn wrote, referring to one of Bangkok’s two airports.

“Myself and everyone in our family feel a mixture of worry and happiness. But we respect our father’s decision.”

Thaksin, a billionaire businessman and populist former prime minister, was ousted in a military coup in 2006. He fled Thailand in 2008 after being sentenced to 12 years in jail on four different charges, including for corruption and tax evasion. 

His younger sister, Yingluck, was elected prime minister in 2011, but thrown out in another coup, this time led by then-Gen. Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Thailand’s current caretaker prime minister. 

Prayuth told reporters on Wednesday that he was not aware of any deal being struck between authorities and Thaksin.

Deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn said Thaksin would be subject to the judicial process upon his planned return, Reuters reported.

Thaksin remains popular in Thailand and is still thought to hold considerable influence over domestic politics, particularly among rural voters in the north and the northeast – the stronghold of the Pheu Thai Party.

His return to Thailand comes amid a period of deep political uncertainty for the Southeast Asian nation.

Efforts to establish a coalition government by the election-winning Move Forward Party have hit major roadblocks, with top prime ministerial nominee Pita Limjaroenrat rebuffed twice by Thailand’s Parliament.

After the double blows, Move Forward said it would back a Pheu Thai candidate, but the speaker of Thailand’s Parliament on Tuesday indefinitely postponed this week’s scheduled vote for the position.

Over the weekend, Pheu Thai leaders met with pro-royalist parties from the former military regime, including Bhumjaithai, United Thai Nation and the Chat Thai Pattana Party. All have refused to join a coalition government that includes Move Forward, due to its ambitions to amend the royal defamation law.

Thannapat Jarernpanit, assistant professor of political science at Pibulsongkram Rajabhat University, said Pheu Thai was prioritizing Thaksin’s return over forming a new government.

“We cannot deny that the reason Pheu Thai is so slow to form a government is that its primary goal is to bring Thaksin home,” she said.

Isa Gharti, a political analyst at Chiang Mai University, said Thaksin’s return after 15 years would be a “crucial moment.” 

She said it could affect the formation of a Pheu Thai-led government, as Thaksin would face fierce opposition from pro-royalist activists and some Move Forward party supporters.

His presence could also see Move Forward pushed out of a new governing coalition, Isa said.

“The government formation will be in the hands of the old clique,” she said.