He said a seat in the Security Council would help Thailand project more voices in the multilateral arena and as head of the Group of 77 developing countries, it could deliver the group’s agendas for UN’s consideration more effectively.

Having a seat at the council would also help Thailand gain more international trust. “It’s not about whether I’m the PM or not. It’s all about our performance,” he said.

The seat will be up for votes today at the UN headquarters in New York, with Thailand competing with Kazakhstan for a slot in the Asia-Pacific region.

While Kazakhstan offers freshness at the global stage, Thailand is promoting sustainable development with a focus on sufficiency economy as its key strength in the competition for one of the 10 non-permanent seats.

Campaigning since 2009, Thailand has also boosted its profile by sending peacekeeping troops to different countries. It previously held the seat in 1985-1986.

Prayut admitted that the competition with Kazakhstan was tight. “We support each other. Some countries want to support us, but they have already made promises to others, though that should not be a problem,” he said.

Former Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan, who has been leading the campaign for Thailand, is assured of nine votes as promised last year by Asean foreign ministers. Surin, however, admitted that the campaign had been disrupted by the Thai political setbacks.

He will be joining the Thai delegation along with Foreign Ministry’s permanent secretary Apichart Chinwanno for today’s elections at the UN General Assembly.