Yingluck Shinawatra becomes Thailand's first woman PM

Bangkok: Yingluck Shinawatra today became Thailand’s first woman Prime Minister, a month after her Puea Thai party crushed the ruling Democrats at the hustings. “Yingluck gained more than half of the votes, therefore I declare that Yingluck has been voted in as the new prime minister by members of the House of Representatives,” speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont said. [caption id=“attachment_55070” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Yingluck became politically turbulent Thailand’s first female prime minister after parliament endorsed her crushing election victory. Pornchai Kittiwongsakul/AFP”]  [/caption] Somsak will submit the result to His Majesty the King for royal appointment. Until then, Yingluck remains prime minister elect. She became the 28th prime minister by a majority vote in the House of Representatives. A total of 296 MPs voted in support of Yingluck, while three MPs voted against her, with 197 abstentions - including Yingluck, the House speaker, one of his deputies and the main opposition parties, the Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties. She was the only candidate. The opposition did not nominate a candidate for the top job. Yingluck’s Puea Thai party and its allies enjoy a three- fifths majority in parliament after a resounding victory in the 3 July election over the pro-establishment Democrats. Yingluck is the youngest sister of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a 2006 army coup backed by Thailand’’s elites. He is on a self imposed exile in Dubai. The new prime minister will face the immediate challenge of bringing stability to the kingdom, after five years of political turmoil since her brother Shinawatra. Yingluck, described by her brother as his “clone”, led her party to a crushing win in last month’s election. PTI