Thai election panel disqualifies Princess Ubolratana as PM candidate
2019-02-11
Thai Raksa Chart party leader Preechapol Pongpanich, holds up application of candidate for Prime Minister, Thailand's Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi, at the election commission office in Bangkok, Thailand Feb 8, 2019. [Photo/Agebcies]
BANGKOK - Thailand's Election Commission on Monday disqualified the sister of the king from running for prime minister, ending a stunning, short-lived candidacy for a populist party after King Maha Vajiralongkorn called the bid "inappropriate".
The commission released the official list of parties' candidates for prime minister without the name of Princess Ubolratana, 67, the older sister of the king.
Members of the royal family should be "above politics" and therefore cannot "hold any political office," the commission said in a statement, echoing the wording of a public statement from the king on Friday.
The princess had accepted the nomination of Thai Raksa Chart party, made up of supporters of ousted ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
