Sawt Falasteen - Thai lawmakers to elect new prime minister

Paetongtarn, 37, whose father and aunt have served as premier, would become the youngest leader in Thailand's history as a constitutional monarchy if elected.

The vote, slated to begin at 10 am (0300 GMT), was forced after the kingdom's top court sacked premier Srettha Thavisin for appointing a cabinet minister with a criminal conviction.

Srettha's ouster on Wednesday was the latest round in a long-running battle between the military, pro-royalist establishment and parties linked to Paetongtarn's father, billionaire and one-time Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra.

The Pheu Thai party selected billionaire founder Thaksin Shinawtra's daughter as its replacement candidate on Thursday. None of the 10 other parties in the coalition it leads put forward an alternative.

Bhumjaithai -- the third-largest party in parliament -- said it had "agreed to support a candidate" from Pheu Thai in Friday's vote.

Paetongtarn must now secure 247 ballots from the body's 493 sitting members.

"We are confident that the party and coalition parties will lead our country," she said after the party announced her candidacy.

Paetongtarn, who has never held elected office, helped run the hotel arm of the family's business empire before entering politics three years ago and was a near-constant presence on the campaign trail in 2023.

That year's national election saw the fledgling Move Forward Party top the vote-getting after pledging to reform the country's strict lese-majeste laws and break up powerful business monopolies.

But alarmed senators blocked MFP's attempt to form a government, and Pheu Thai subsequently formed an alliance with pro-military parties once staunchly opposed to Thaksin and his followers, leading to Srettha's ascension.

Less than a year later, he has become the third Pheu Thai prime minister to be kicked out by the Constitutional Court.

Srettha was ousted over his appointment of Pichit Chuenban, a former lawyer associated with Thaksin's family.

Sentenced to six months in jail in 2008 for a graft-related offence, Pichit quit the cabinet this year in a bid to save Srettha, but the court pressed ahead with the case.

The case was brought by 40 former senators appointed by the military junta that ousted the elected Pheu Thai government in a 2014 coup.

Last week, the court voted unanimously to dissolve MFP and ban its executive board members from politics for 10 years.

M.AlAhmad--SF-PST