Pheu Thai Elects Julapun After Court Ouster

Thailand’s Pheu Thai party, founded by ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, elected Julapun Amornvivat as its leader on Friday after Paetongtarn Shinawatra resigned following her removal by a court over an ethics breach tied to a border dispute with Cambodia. Julapun, 50, a former deputy finance minister and Chiang Mai MP and son of veteran politician Sompong Amornvivat, won overwhelming support—reportedly 354 of 369 votes with 15 abstentions—at a livestreamed meeting that also appointed a new executive and a candidate-selection committee. He pledged to overhaul party communications, choose higher-quality parliamentary candidates, and push policies aimed at winning the next general election, which is scheduled for March 29, 2026. Analysts say Paetongtarn’s resignation may have been a strategic move to shield Pheu Thai from legal challenges and could signal a decline in the Shinawatra family's direct public leadership, though the family remains influential behind the scenes. Some insiders had favored senior figures such as Chaturon Chaisang, but Julapun was viewed as a compromise candidate combining economic expertise, generational renewal and the ability to unify the party ahead of the election.