Thai premier-in-waiting says her party still backs her

Jul 14, 2011, 10:56 GMT

Bangkok - Thailand's prime minister-elect Yingluck Shinawatra said Thursday that her Pheu Thai party has not selected a substitute premier, rejecting claims of irregularities in her campaign.

Yingluck Shinawatra said she is confident the Thai Election Commission (EC) will 'carry out its duty fairly' and endorse her.

'Nothing has changed. The party list candidates remain the same,' Yingluck said in response to rumours that Pheu Thai is looking for an alternative if she is disqualified.

She added that her legal team is preparing to answer any questions the commission may have.

The commission did not qualify Yingluck during their first round of endorsements on Tuesday, due to questions concerning the involvement of banned politicians in her campaign.

A campaign slogan for the youngest sister of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, 'Thaksin thinks. Pheu Thai does,' brought into question Thaksin's involvement in Yingluck's campaign.

The Election Commission is scheduled to endorse a second round of candidates on July 19, and Yingluck has expressed confidence that she will be approved.

Earlier this month, Yingluck announced a coalition lineup after election officials confirmed that her party had won 262 of the 500 parliamentary seats in the July 3 election.

But to become members of parliament, candidates must be endorsed by the commission, which only approved 358 of the 500 during its first round on July 12.

The endorsed candidates were those who faced no election-related complaints, while the commission had concerns about the remaining 142.

On July 19, it is due among others to consider candidates facing allegations of vote-buying and fraud at the polls, or other concerns.

The constitution requires that at least 95 per cent of the total 500 members of parliament must convene for the first time within 30 days of the election.

If commission's endorsements fall short of those 475 seats after the second round, they are scheduled to meet again on July 26, less than a week before the 30-day deadline.