Prayut ready to stand as PM candidate
Prayut Chan-o-cha on Friday morning ended a week’s deliberation by announcing he had accepted the Phalang Pracharat Party’s invitation to stand as its candidate for prime minister.
In a statement, Prayut said he had carefully considered the party’s campaign platform and found it to be in line with what the military junta he leads, the National Council for Peace and Order, had worked towards over the past four years.
Prayut stressed that he was not merely attempting to cling to power but genuinely wished to serve the national interests.
Accepting the nomination was not an easy decision, he said, but as a former soldier he was ready to make a sacrifice for the good of society.
“I’m determined to collaborate with the people and lead the country to happiness and unity, free of social conflict,” Prayut said. “Hence, I accept Phalang Pracharat’s invitation to be a PM candidate for the House of Representatives to approve.”
Phalang Pracharat announced last week it would name three PM candidates.
The others were party leader Uttama Savanayana and current deputy PM Somkid Jatusripitak, but both withdrew their names, yielding to Prayut as the “most appropriate” candidate.