Sacked Thai PM rules himself out of leadership race

SAMAK SUNDARAVEJ will not be a candidate when the Thai parliament votes next week for a new premier, an aide said yesterday, but street campaigners vowed to keep pressure on the government he led for seven months.

“He said he did his best to protect democracy. From now on it’s up to the party to decide what to do next,” Thirapol Noprampa, Samak’s aide, said.

Samak’s withdrawal was cheered by supporters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), who occupied his offices more than two weeks ago in a bid to unseat him.

In the event, Thailand’s Constitutional Court sacked him from the premiership on Tuesday, finding him guilty of conflict of interest for hosting television cooking shows while in office.

While the ruling removed Samak, it did not ban him from making a comeback and he indicated he would seek a parliamentary vote yesterday.

Then parliament postponed the vote after several factions of Samak’s party withdrew their backing, fearing his renomination would escalate tensions.

There was no immediate word from the party on whom they would now back for prime minister.