Thai PM joins new party to run in next election

BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced on Friday that he intends to join the recently formed United Thai Nation Party to run for the general election next year.

Prayut told reporters at Government House that he decided to join the Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party (United Thai Nation Party) after the party agreed to nominate him as its candidate for prime minister, adding that he would register for the party's membership.

"I have been considering this for some time, and I finally decided to join the Ruam Thai Sang Chart party," Xinhua News Agency quoted Prayut as saying.

Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party, founded in March last year, is led by Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, current secretary-general to the prime minister.

If the House of Representatives finishes its term on March 23 as scheduled, the Election Commission will hold the general election within 45 days following the parliament's dissolution.

Prayuth's tenure will be restricted to two years if he wins the 2023 election, as the constitution limits prime minister's terms to eight years. In September, the Constitutional Court ruled that he had been prime minister since 2017, when the current constitution went into force.