Sonthi not disheartened by PPP victory
Deputy Prime Minister Sonthi Boonyartakalin was said to be unmoved at the popular People Power Party (PPP) winning the December 23 election, said Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont. The PPP is set to form a coalition government.
The PPP, allied to former Prime Minister Thaksin who was deposed by a bloodless coup in 2006, has announced a coalition government with five other parties.
The People Power Party won the most seats in December's election, although 65 of the 233 seats won were investigated by the Election Commission, with three being disqualified.
Many former Thai Rak Thai (TRT) members went on to form PPP and its opponents claimed it was simply a proxy for Mr Thaksin.
The current PPP leader, Samak Sundaravej, was former deputy prime minister alongside Thaksin in 1995. He told a news conference on Saturday that a new Prime Minister would be chosen when parliament reconvenes on Monday.
Once chosen, the new candidate for Prime Minister will then be submitted to King Bhumibol Adulyadej for approval; a process which generally takes a few days.
There are still questions to be answered once Thailand returns to democratic rule; namely that if and when Thaksin returns from self-imposed exile in the UK, will he be allowed to play a political role again or even want to.