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'Political earthquake' as Thai princess runs for PM against military junta Thai king denounces sister's bid to become prime minister
(about 9 hours later)
The sister of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has entered the race to become prime minister in next month’s elections in an unprecedented move that redraws the country’s political landscape. The king of Thailand has denounced his sister after she announced an unprecedented bid to become prime minister.
Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi said she was exercising her rights as a citizen in accepting an offer to represent the Thai Raksa Chart party. She is the first member of the royal family to run for the office of PM, and will face the coup leader and head of Thailand’s military junta, Prayut Chan-o-cha, who said on Friday he was running to “maintain peace and order”. A run by Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi, who renounced her royal title and privileges when she married an American in the 1970s, would pose an unexpected challenge to the military junta that has ruled Thailand since a coup nearly five years ago.
The Thai monarchy, a revered institution shielded from criticism by strict lese-majesty laws, is traditionally seen as above the political fray, although royals have intervened in moments of political crisis. Ubolratana announced on Thursday she would represent a party associated with the exiled telecoms tycoon and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in a move so bold that analysts said it must have been approved by her brother King Vajiralongkorn.
But hours later the king made a televised statement suggesting he had been caught by surprise. “Involvement of a high-ranking member of the royal family in politics, in whatever way, is an act that conflicts with the country’s traditions, customs and culture and therefore is considered extremely inappropriate,” he said.
The king’s opposition to the move is likely to lead to Ubolratana’s disqualification by the election commission.
Ubolratana said she was simply exercising her rights as a citizen, but registration papers that listed her legal residence as Boromphiman Throne Hall and the Grand Palace underline just how exceptional her prospective candidacy is.
The monarchy is one of Thailand’s most revered and respected institutions. Although she is technically no longer a princess, Ubolratana, 67, would be the first member of the royal family to attempt to run for public office.
Until Friday the frontrunner in the long-awaited elections was Prayut Chan-o-cha, the leader of the 2014 coup and head of the ruling military junta, who said he was running to maintain peace and order. After repeatedly delaying elections and tightening controls on opposition parties, he had been widely expected to return as prime minister.
Thailand's princess Ubolratana: social media star and anti-drug campaignerThailand's princess Ubolratana: social media star and anti-drug campaigner
Thai Raksa Chart is allied to the former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006, but has led the party from exile. The party was created by Thaksin’s Pheu Thai party after the military junta threatened to dissolve it. Ubolratana has openly maintained close ties with Thaksin. Ubolratana’s unconventional foray into politics comes after decades of defying expectations. The eldest child of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died in 2016 after a 70-year reign, she gave up her official royal title when she married Peter Ladd Jensen, a US citizen and fellow Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, in 1972.
The princess is the older sister of King Vajiralongkorn and eldest child of late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. She gave up her official royal title when she married Peter Ladd Jensen, a US citizen and fellow Massachusetts Institute of Technology student, in 1972, but is still considered part of the royal family. After having three children, they divorced and she later moved back to Thailand where she began a second life as an unusually accessible royal, posting regularly on Instagram. In addition to acting and singing, she carries out charity work, including leading an anti-drugs campaign.
“I have relinquished my royal titles and lived as a commoner,” Ubolratana, 67, said in an Instagram post. “I have accepted the Thai Raksa Chart party nomination for prime minister to show my rights and freedom without any privileges above other fellow Thai citizens under the constitution.” “I have relinquished my royal titles and lived as a commoner,” she said in an Instagram post announcing her decision to run. She was not present when the party submitted papers registering her as a candidate.
The announcement was a profound and unprecedented development that had created a political earthquake, said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University. “I have accepted the Thai Raksa Chart party nomination for prime minister to show my rights and freedom without any privileges above other fellow Thai citizens under the constitution,” she wrote.
Prior to Ubolratana’s intervention, the election had been viewed as a battle between Thaksin’s populists and their allies, and the royalist-military establishment. Thai Raksa Chart was created by Thaksin’s main Pheu Thai party, originally intended as a possible proxy after the military junta threatened to dissolve Pheu Thai.
Strict lese-majesty laws make it a crime to criticise, defame or insult members of Thailand's royal family. Ubolratana has openly maintained ties with Thaksin, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and has led the party from abroad after fleeing into exile. The two were seen together at the football World Cup in Moscow last summer.
In practice, this means open discussion or critical reporting about the royal family is considered illegal. King Vajiralongkorn will be formally crowned later this year. He trained at Duntroon military college in Australia and holds several military titles, as well as a pilot’s licence. For decades, however, he showed little interest in the public duties expected of one of the world’s most revered monarchies.
The military junta, which seized power in 2014, has been criticised for using the law – which can see people jailed for up to 15 years on each count – to stifle opposition. 
In 2015, a man was jailed for 30 years over six Facebook posts and the local printer of the New York Times refused to publish an edition with a story on the king.
Thitinan said the move had catapulted the previously small Thai Raksa Chart into the spotlight. “It is the leading contender for the election now,” he said.
The Thai Raksa Chart party said it was deeply honoured that Ubolratana had accepted its nomination. “She is concerned and wishes to take part in lifting Thais out of poverty,” her statement said, according to a translation by local news outlet Khaosod.
The party’s leader, Preechapol Pongpanich, said the princess was “knowledgeable and highly suitable”.
“I believe there will be no legal problems in terms of her qualification, but we have to wait for the election commission to endorse her candidacy.”
It was unclear at this point, Thitinan said, whether her candidacy would create more division in Thai politics, or the opposite. He said the princess could help bridge a divide in Thai politics as an outsider, but there was a risk of even more polarisation with the royal family on the one side and the military on the other.
“Whether it leads to a more reconcilable political environment, we will have to see whether the other main political players are included in the government,” he said in a phone interview.
Paul Chambers, a lecturer at the college of Asean community studies at Thailand’s Naresuan University, said that although Ubolratana did not fall under lese-majesty, which prohibits criticism of the royal family, open disapproval of her and her policies would become difficult. “Who would dare campaign against the king’s sister?” he said in an email.
“She is a definite threat for Prayut because she holds much more legitimacy to Thais than does a coup leader.”
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