New Delhi: Thailand voters have given a landmark verdict against the incumbent military-back rule in the recently concluded polls with the Pita Limjaroenrat-led Move Forward Party (MFP) taking a stunning lead as counting nears the end.
In a triumphant victory speech on Monday, Pita expressed his party’s readiness to form a government. Speaking in English, he stated, “Today is a new day, and hopefully it is full of sunshine and hope.”
Taking to Twitter, Limjaroenrat said that he was ‘clear’ and ‘ready’ to be the 30th prime minister of Thailand.
“We have the same dream, the same hopes, and we believe that Thailand that we love can be better. Change is possible If we start doing it from today… Our dreams and hopes are quite simple and straightforward,” he tweeted in Thai.
He added, “Whether you agree or disagree with me, I will be your prime minister. Whether you voted for me or not, I will serve you.”
According to Al-Jazeera, MFP, who fought the general elections for the first time and promised a slew of bold reforms if it comes to power, has won the most seats and attracted the largest share of votes after citizens massively rejected the reign of army-backed parties that have ruled it for nearly a decade.
Here are a few things to know about Pita Limjaroenrat:
- Born in a wealthy Thai family on September 5, 1980, Pita’s father was an adviser in the agriculture ministry and his uncle was an aide of former ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra, according to BBC.
- He did his schooling in New Zealand, which is when he developed an interest in politics. “I got shipped to the middle of nowhere in New Zealand and there were three [TV] channels back then. Either you watch Australian soap operas, or you watch the debates in parliament,” he told the Thai YouTube programme Aim Hour earlier this year in February.
- Pita graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance from Bangkok’s Thammasat University, a master’s in public policy from Harvard University, and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to a BBC report.
- According to the report, Pita started his career in business, first taking over his late father’s rice bran oil company and later as an executive director of the transport and delivery app Grab Thailand.
- He began his political career in 2019 as a member of the Future Forward Party, the predecessor to the Move Forward Party. In March 2020, he was formally elected as the leader of the Move Forward Party.
- In 2012, he married Thai TV actress Chutima Teepanat, and they have a seven-year-old daughter.
- The couple got divorced in 2019. He is now a single dad of seven-year-old Pipim, whom he has brought to Move Forward’s rallies.
