ISTANBUL

Anutin Charnvirakul of the conservative Bhumjaithai party was elected the 32nd prime minister of Thailand by defeating his rival from the ruling Pheu Thai party, Chaikasem Nitisiri.

Anutin won with 311 votes in the 500-seat parliament, exceeding the threshold required to become the Southeast Asian country's prime minister.

Chaikasem gathered 152 votes, while 27 abstained.

Anutin was nominated by his party's secretary-general, Chaichanok Chidchob.

In the 2023 Thai general election, the Pheu Thai Party won 141 seats, making it the second-largest party, while the Move Forward Party won 151.

Bhumjaithai, on the other hand, only won 70 seats.

Heir to a major construction company, Anutin, previously served as the deputy prime minister and interior minister from 2023 to June 2025, and public health minister in 2019-2023.

His role as the public health minister during the COVID-19 pandemic popularized him, as did his championing efforts of Thailand's legalization of cannabis in 2022.

The 58-year-old had started his career as a politician under the Thai Rak Thai party, founded by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The prime ministerial election in parliament was announced earlier after the Constitutional Court removed Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office.

The court found she had violated ethical standards by criticizing a senior Thai commander during a phone call with Cambodian leader Hun Sen amid border tensions.

On Tuesday, Paetongtarn filed a lawsuit challenging the ruling.

The episode has exacerbated turbulence in Thailand's political system, which has seen frequent clashes between elected governments and the judiciary since the ouster of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006.