Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha won’t leave the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) and will continue as the party’s chief strategist, party leader Pirapan Salirathavibhaga said yesterday.
Gen Prayut will work to strengthen the UTN and take the lead in protecting the country’s three core institutions, which represent the core of the party’s ideology, said Mr Pirapan.
“Gen Prayut will continue to be with the party and work as the party’s chief strategist,” he said in a Facebook post.
And he will chair a meeting of all 36 successful election candidates on Monday at the party’s headquarters, said a source.
As a new party that had only four to five months to campaign for votes ahead of Sunday’s election, the UTN still proved strong enough to win 23 House seats in the constituency race and come third in the party-list contest with 4.67 million votes, said Mr Pirapan.
That support earned the party 13 list seats, bringing the total number of elected MPs to 36, which should be considered a success, he said, before thanking all those who had voted.
The party’s candidates came second in several constituencies, particularly in Bangkok, which reflected strong public support, he said.
“I’d like to ask all our supporters to keep faith in the party and be confident that we will move forward together for the sake of our beloved nation,” said Mr Pirapan.