This announcement clearly put the general in an awkward position.

Apparently, Prayut had waited until almost the last minute before making a decision, mainly because he was waiting to see Thai Raksa Chart’s next move, which now appears to be marking a new milestone in Thai history. This is the first time that a member of the Thai Royal Family has joined politics.

Yet, in the statement, the junta leader only said that he accepted Phalang Pracharat’s invitation after careful deliberation of its policy proposals.

The general, who toppled a civilian government in 2014, wanted to see if the proposals were in accordance with the junta’s initiatives over the past five years.

“This decision was not easy, because it is such a critical period for the country,” he said. “I’ve been a soldier all my life and I’m ready to sacrifice my life to protect the country.”

As for criticism about his current role, the prime minister denied he was trying to cling to power. He said his only aim was to protect the national interest.

On Thursday, Phalang Pracharat’s two other nominees – its leader Uttama Savanayana and Deputy PM Somkid Jatusripitak – withdrew their names from the PM nominees list. Both decided to give way to Prayut, saying the general was the perfect candidate considering the current situation.

Uttama handed Prayut’s name to the Election Commission on Friday afternoon, and told the press that he had not had a chance to talk to the prime minister yet as Prayut had only decided in the morning and the list had to be handed in by 4.30pm on Friday.

Uttama also stressed that Phalang Pracharat’s stance remained unchanged – it aim is to help develop the country, not help Prayut retain power. However, he declined to comment on Thai Raksa Chart Party’s choice of PM candidate, only saying it had the right to propose anyone it chose.

Other political figures also avoided making any concrete comments on the matter.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said: “I have nothing to say about this [Ubolratana becoming a PM candidate]. No comments on both the legal matters or facts.”

With reporters bombarding the government’s legal expert with questions, Wissanu’s only response was: “I’m not answering. I don’t know.”

As for whether this turn of events made him feel frustrated, Wissanu said he felt nothing.

Meanwhile, former chief charter writer Meechai Ruchupan wrote a poem yesterday, urging the public to not panic, spend time considering the situation and be united to meet challenges.

Key Democrat Party member Warong Dechgitvigrom posted on Facebook: “The news has made me confused, but now I’ve regained my power, I will continue to campaign. We have to fight for our country.”

Pro-democracy party Future Forward leader Thanathorn Jungroongruangkit said he had no problem with who runs for the PM’s post, provided they are qualified and eligible.

However, he pointed out, that this move may have brought things to square one – dissolving the colour-coded politics. He said now voters can choose their side again.

In a wink, her Instagram comment – “If you wish me well, say ‘May you stay slim and slender’ ” – has become the hottest hashtag on Twitter.

That’s followed in popularity by #Thai Raksa Chart, which is also known as Thai Safe the Nation Party (sic). Thai Raksa Chart is the party that’s nominated her as its sole PM candidate.

“May you stay slim and slender” is a pun on the double meaning of the Thai word charoen as both “long live” and “fat”.

A Twitter user tagged his post #Princess Be Slender in expressing loyalty and hope that her nomination puts an end to multiple political rows plaguing the country.

“Let’s leave colour-coded politics behind and move towards a beautiful future,” he tweeted.

In contrast, political commentator Decharut Sukkumnoed, a Kasetsart University lecturer, chose to refrain from discussing politics for now.

Upon hearing about Ubolratana’s nomination, Nuchanart Tantong, coordinator of the Four Regions Slum Network, said she hoped the Princess considered everyone in society equal, be they rich or poor.

“I hope the new PM candidate will come out with measures to relieve the impact of air pollution for all citizens – especially the poor who have been suffering the most,” she said.

A Bangkok food vendor who asked not to be named said she was shocked by the news. “I don’t really know what’s going on!” she exclaimed.

At 67, Ubolratana has had no political experience, but her nomination was met with loud cheers and widespread shows of support.

Her private Instagram account, “nichax”, was flooded with congratulatory messages on Friday.

One message came from Paetongtarn “Ing” Shinawatra, daughter of former premier Thaksin.

“I wish to be your supporter no matter how small I am in whatever you do,” she wrote.

The princess replied, “Thank you Ing for your constant moral support.”

Ubolratana, who renounced her royal title to marry a foreigner decades ago, also took time to thank her other supporters via Instagram. “I am deeply touched,” she wrote. “I would like to tell you that I want to see everybody in Thailand enjoy their right to opportunities and happiness.”

The Princess emphasised that she was now a “commoner” and wanted to exercise her constitutional rights as such. She said she agreed to let TSN nominate her as a way of exercising her rights and freedoms, insisting that she enjoyed no special privileges.

Atukkit Sawangsuk, a TV host and newspaper columnist affiliated with the red-shirt movement, said on Facebook he now believed anything could happen – even “the impossible”.

“But I disagree,” he said, without directly mentioning the Princess’ decision to accept the nomination. “This is because I foresee both short- and long-term problems.”

He fretted that Ubolratana’s nomination could open a new phase of political battles, but said, “Let’s start anew in this new phase.”

Other red shirts said they felt betrayed and were disappointed by Thai Raksa Chart’s decision to nominate Ubolratana.

Princess Ubolratana on Friday set aside her roles in entertainment and social welfare to leap into politics as the sole prime-ministerial candidate for the Thai Raksa Chart Party affiliated with former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Ubolratana, 67, is the eldest child of Their Majesties Queen Sirikit and the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

She is the elder sister of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Their Royal Highnesses Princesses Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and Chulabhorn.

She attended Chitralada School in Bangkok from the primary to secondary levels and moved to the United States for her tertiary education. Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973, she went on to obtain a master’s in public health at the University of California Los Angeles.

Ubolratana relinquished her royal title in 1972 when she married an American, Peter Jensen, and changed her named to Julie Jensen.

She has two daughters, Ploypailin and Sirikitiya Jensen. The couple’s only son, Poom Jensen, perished in the 2004 tsunami while vacationing at Ban Nam Khem in Phang-nga.

After her divorce in late 1998, the Princess returned to Thailand and received a royal designation.

She has enjoyed a higher media profile than any of her siblings, chiefly through an anti-drug campaign that her “To Be Number One” Foundation launched in 2002.

The foundation currently has more than 31 million members throughout the Kingdom, mostly young people. Its work often takes her on tours around the country, during which she encourages children to stay away from drugs. It’s not uncommon to see her singing and dancing alongside the youngsters at their gatherings.

Ubolratana has appeared in Thai movies and hosts the television show “Talk to the Princess” on government-run ModerNine TV, further promoting the aims of her foundation.

Her show business career began with a starring role in the television soap opera “Kasattiya” in 2003, followed three year later with a part in “Anantalai”, a series she also wrote under the penname “Ploykampetch”.

In 2011 the Princess starred alongside her daughter Ploypailin in “Dao Long Fah, Pupha Si-ngen”. All three productions emerged from Kantana Co, a major Thai entertainment firm.

She made her big-screen debut in 2008 in the drama “Where the Miracle Happens”, playing the lead role of a lonely-at-the-top CEO who becomes a philanthropist after the death of her only daughter.

In 2010 she appeared in the action film “My Best Bodyguard”.

Ubolratana actively maintains an Instagram account that has some 100,000 followers and is admired for the warm messages of condolences she sends in times of natural disaster and other difficult moments.

As a culture ambassador for Thailand, she has been promoting the Thai film and tourism industries overseas for more than a decade.

The Tourism and Sport Ministry has several times tapped her charisma and her fluency in English to promote the Kingdom at the Cannes Film Festival and other overseas events.

Paiboon Nititawan said the Thai Raksa Chart Party’s nomination of Princess Ubolratana might violate a law preventing political parties from relying on the monarchy in their campaigning.

Thai Raksa Chart shocked the country earlier Friday by submitting the Princess’ name to the commission as its sole candidate for prime minister.

Rumours had spread in recent days that the Princess might jump into politics and standing for prime minister in the March 24 election.

Princess Ubolratana relinquished her royal status in 1972 after marrying an American.

Thai Raksa Chart is allied to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who has remained politically active since his ouster in the 2006 coup and often expressed his wish to return home from self-imposed exile.

Party leader Preechaphol Pongpanit said the nomination adhered to constitutional rules.

The Princess’ candidacy would only become official after the EC verifies her eligibility to stand for PM, Preechaphol said.

“One of the party members proposed her name during an executive meeting,” he said. “And she was kind enough to accept our invitation.”

Paiboon of the People’s Reform Party asked the EC to deliberate urgently, citing a key passage of the Constitution placing the monarchy above politics and remaining politically neutral.

In an apparent reference to the Princess having relinquished her royal title, Paiboon said the monarchy was not based on title but rather on birth.

Asked whether the Princess had agreed to apply for the candidacy, Paiboon declined to answer.

“Today I came here only to ask for the EC to investigate the Thai Raksa Chart party,” he said. He said he would not want to see Thai Raksa Chart dissolved over the matter.

ELECTION WATCHERS are holding their breath today waiting for the official release of parties’ lists of their candidates for prime minister. Adding intrigue, the Thai Raksa Chart Party linked to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra has hinted that its list will cause a shock.

Yesterday, a day before the submission deadline, Chaturon Chaisang, a Thai Raksa Chart favourite for the top job if it does well in the polling, said he hadn’t yet even been invited to be on the list.

“I don’t know [who will be on the list] because I’m not on the party executive,” he replied when asked about his party’s nominees. Thai Raksa Chart, a sister party to Pheu Thai, was founded to avoid a “constitutional trap” designed by the regime to prevent any single party from dominating Parliament.

“I understood that I’d be one of the candidates, but now it’s almost the deadline [for submitting lists to the Election Commission] and no one has sent me an invitation,” said Chaturon, who left the Pheu Thai Party to run for Thai Raksa Chart.

Chaturon said the party executive made all the decisions and it hadn’t yet apprised the members.

The parties have until today to submit their nominations to the EC. They can submit no more than three names of candidates eligible to be prime minister.

Seasoned politician Chaturon’s comment appeared to support a rumour that his party’s candidate would be an established, high-ranking member of society and not another member of the Shinawatra family, as had been previously speculated.

Several party members were asked to either confirm or deny the rumour but declined, though some said the nominee’s name would come as a big surprise in political circles and could even change the political landscape.

The issue became a hot topic on social media on Wednesday, with many punters saying it would be risky bringing such a person into politics.

Fake statement circulates

A statement was circulated on social media saying the party expressed its gratitude to the “elite person” for accepting the invitation to be listed as a premier candidate. A party official said the statement was a fake and the party would take legal action against whoever concocted it.

The candidate list is now the most-anticipated element of the election apart from the voting itself on March 24, in which junta chief and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who took power after the 2014 coup, is poised to perpetuate his hold on power.

Prayut said yesterday he would decide this morning by 10am whether to accept the Phalang Pracharat Party’s invitation to head its list of PM candidates.

The pro-junta Phalang Pracharat invited Prayut, deputy premier Somkid Jatusripitak and its own party chief Uttama Savanayana to vie for the top |job.

Somkid said yesterday he had suggested Prayut’s name be the only one on the list “for the continuity of the work”.

Whether he’s on that list or not, the constitution gives Prayut another chance to head the government as an “outsider prime minister” in the event that the parties cannot agree on anyone from their combined candidate lists.

It is highly likely that Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva will be the one and only prime-minister candidate for that party, though the list had yet to be officially submitted.

But pro-junta Phalang Pracharat, has seen their preferred candidate, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, publicly claiming to be undecided, suggesting at least the possibility that the party could be left high and dry.

As of yesterday, junta leader General Prayut had not made up his mind about heading Phalang Pracharat’s ticket, along with two other PM candidates. He yesterday reiterated that he had until this Friday to make the decision.

Phalang Pracharat’s executives yesterday could not affirm that Prayut would say yes.

Its leader, Uttama Savanayana, who is a PM candidate for the party, said he respected Prayut’s decision. While he declined to say how much confidence he has that Prayut would accept the offer, Uttama said he remained hopeful of a positive answer.

Uttama also insisted that the pro-junta party was here to stay for the long term.

The general view among pundits is that the party would lose a key selling point if it lost Prayut as its premier candidate. Yet Uttama said its survival was did not hinge on one person.

Separately, the party’s secretary-general Sontirat Sontijirawong said yesterday the party has a Plan B in the event that Prayut declined the invitation.

“If General Prayut rejects it, we are prepared for all scenarios,” Sontirat said.

Phalang Pracharat will submit its party-list MP candidates to the EC today, he said. But he was uncertain about submitting the PM candidate list, saying the party had until Friday to complete everything.

Meanwhile, most parties believed to be likely members of the future governing coalition or opposition have already submitted their PM candidate list to the EC.

Pheu Thai named Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, Chadchart Sittipunt and Chaikasem Nitisiri as their PM hopefuls.

Future Forward, a pro-democracy party popular among younger voters, named only its leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, to contest for the government’s top job.

Bhumjaithai, a medium-sized parties said to be a significant determining factor in the poll, also declared only its leader, Anutin Charnvirakul, to run at the top of the ticket.

Most eyes are now on Phalang Pracharat and Prayut’s decision.

However, political scientist Yuttaporn Isarachai, yesterday said Prayut is not necessarily the pro-junta party’s chief selling point.

No matter whether Prayut says yes or no to their invitation, the move could pose issues for Phalang Pracharat, he said.

For one thing, it could be the party’s Achilles’ heel, he said.

“Other parties could use the nomination for their campaign,” the expert pointed out. “They can tell voters to choose them [instead] if voters don’t want Prayut back in the government again.”

Prayut’s and the junta’s image is no longer as clean as it was when it took power in 2014, Yuttaporn said. They have issues such as the luxury watches involving the junta’s No 2, Prawit Wongsuwan, that remain questions in the minds of the public, he added.

However, even if Prayut now rejected the party’s invitation, he could return as an outside PM, Yuttaporn stressed.

Phalang Pracharat could exploit that to campaign if they felt a strong need to use the junta’s name to gain popularity, he said.

JUST TWO DAYS after the Election Commission (EC) began accepting applications, a record-breaking 6,400 candidates from 60 parties have registered in the run-up to the long-awaited national polls.

An expert put the huge turnout to the new election system – Mixed-Member Apportionment (MMA) – saying parties are fielding as many candidates as possible in order to gain votes.

As of yesterday, 6,474 candidates had registered with the EC – more than twice the number of candidates who had registered in the 2011 election, which saw 2,422 MP candidates.

The agency’s secretary-general, Jarungvith Phumma, said 546 individuals had registered yesterday, while more than 5,000 had applied on Monday – the very first day of registration. However, not many parties have handed in the names of their party-list and PM candidates.

Parties have until 4.30pm on Friday to submit their list of candidates in all categories. Jarungvith, however, advised parties to not leave things to the last minute, especially since every application would need to be verified.

So far, he said, only four parties had submitted all three lists – namely the Shinawatra-camp parties Pheu Thai and Thai Raksa Chart, and anti-junta parties Seri Ruam Thai and New Palang Dharma.

Pheu Thai’s list of PM candidates included its de facto leader Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, the formidable former transport minister Chatchart Sitthipan and legal expert Chaikasem Nitisiti.

The party also submitted 97 names for party-list MPs, which showed that Pheu Thai was pinning its hopes on senior figures, such as party leader Viroj Pao-in, secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai, Sudarat and Chaikasem.

However, Chatchart was not included in the MP list, even though he is very popular among urban middle-class voters.

Chatchart affirmed his loyalty to the party yesterday and hinted he might run in the Bangkok gubernatorial elections in the future.

Meanwhile, political scientist Wanwichat Boonprong from Rangsit University yesterday put the record-breaking number of applications to the new electoral system.

“Small and medium-sized parties are now fielding candidates in more areas because this is a chance for them to gain votes that can count towards party-list MPs,” he explained. “We can see parties, such as Bhumjaithai, fielding more candidates in Bangkok, when previously their focus was outside the capital.”

However, he said, for Pheu Thai it is different. It is set to win in many constituencies, which will only reduce its number of party-list MPs. Hence, it has to field fewer candidates and use a proxy party such as Thai Raksa Chart, to compete in the party-list MP contest, he said.

Under the new election method, even when a candidate loses in a constituency, the votes they get are counted and calculated for the party’s share of seats in the House of Representatives.

So, if a party’s candidates in all 350 constituencies get 1,000 votes each, that would total 350,000 votes for the party, which could translate to as many as seven seats for party-list MPs, Wanwichit explained. Hence, most parties were likely to field as many candidates as possible, he said.

Also, since the new law limits the amount of money that can be used for campaigns, all parties – small and large – have an equal chance to introduce themselves to the voters, he added. This is why smaller |parties have become hopeful, he said.

Meanwhile, other closely watched parties such as the Democrat and Phalang Pracharat have yet to hand in their list of hopefuls.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, a potential candidate of Phalang Pracharat, said yesterday that he was still considering the party’s policy proposals, adding he had until Friday to make a final decision.

Earlier, it was said that Prayut was still on the fence because he was not very happy about the party’s choice of list MPs. Prayut reportedly wants politicians facing legal charges to be removed from the list. However, the coup leader denied the report yesterday.

“I haven’t seen the list,” he told reporters. “It has nothing to do with me. They invited me to be their PM candidate, but the list is the party’s responsibility. Now, I’m not related to any political party.”