Princess Ubolratana to contest Thailand elections as PM candidate

In an unprecedented move, Thailand‘s Princess Ubolratana Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi has been nominated as prime minister for the country’s long-delayed general elections by Thai Raksa Chart, a party founded by allies of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The registration of the 67-year-old, the elder sister of King King Maha Vajiralongkorn, as a candidate on Friday means this is the first time in the country’s history that a member of the royal family is to become directly involved in politics and run for office.

The princess was stripped of her royal title when she married a US national in 1972. She returned to Thailand in the late 1990s after getting a divorce. Although her formal title was not restored, she is regarded and treated as royalty by people in Thailand.

Ubolratana is also known as a long-time friend of the Shinawatra family, which has an influence on the March 24 election through its proxy political parties without fielding a direct family member this time. 

“The unpredictable nature of Thai politics just went up another level,” Al Jazeera’s Wayne Hay, reporting from Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, said/

“This has never happened before in Thai politics; the royal family has always been seen as being above politics even though everyone knows that it’s the most powerful body in Thailand.”

Separately, Prayuth Chan-ocha, the head of Thailand’s military government, said in a statement on Friday he would also contest the elections as a prime ministerial candidate for the pro-army Palang Pracharat party.

Prayuth is the army chief who seized power after the military toppled the administration of Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s sister, in a 2014 coup and made himself prime minister.

Princess Ubolratana is expected to be one of his main opponents.

Hay said Thaksin – who was also ousted in a coup in 2006 – and Yingluck “have always been seen as being ant-establishment.

“Their supporters and the supporters of the elite have clashed many times over the past decade, so to now come to this stage to have a member of the royal family running to be potentially the prime minister for a party backed backed by the Shinawatras is definitely an intriguing development for Thai politics.”

Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932 but the royal family has wielded great influence and commanded the devotion of millions.