Thailand: Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra Defers Return From Self-Exile

With Thailand in a political deadlock, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has postponed his return. He was toppled in a military coup in 2006 and fled the country in 2008 to UAE to avoid corruption trials and a prison sentence. 

Thaksin took to social media platform X, on Saturday, to inform his supporters that he would delay his return due to a medical checkup. His daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra had said last month that he would be returning on August 10. “Dad is coming back on Aug 10 at Don Meung airport,” she stated on Facebook. 

But now the ex-PM said “I want to postpone the return date to Thailand from (Aug 10) until not more than two weeks. I will inform you of the date and time again. A doctor called me to undergo health checkups.” 

However, sources say the 74-year-old deferred his return because of the political situation in Thailand. Military-backed Move Forward Party won the Thai general election in May and Thaksin’s Pheu Thai Party came second. The country fell into a political deadlock when the Senate stepped in as the two parties tried to form a government with six like-minded partners. 

The source said Thaksin will return when a Pheu Thai-led government is formed. This will make the former prime minister’s return smooth. Last month Thailand’s deputy national police chief Surachate Hakparn said Thaksin would be subjected to the judicial process upon his planned return. The former telecoms tycoon faces up to 10 years in jail.