Business tycoon Thavisin secures votes to become Thailand's prime minister

Srettha Thavisin from the Pheu Thai party secured enough votes in parliament to become the country’s 30th prime minister on Tuesday.

While the vote was still ongoing, his supporters celebrated an end to months of post-election uncertainty in which the winning progressive Move Forward Party was blocked from taking power by conservative senators.

The vote came hours after former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra began an eight-year prison sentence after returning from years of self-imposed exile.

Srettha, the former head of Thai property giant Sansiri, on Friday vowed to tackle poverty and inequality - and rejected corruption allegations made by an anti-graft whistleblower.

A wave of urban and youth discontent with nearly a decade of military-backed rule carried MFP to a surprise first-place finish in May's election.

But the party's pledges to reform royal insult laws and tackle powerful business monopolies saw it run into bitter opposition from the kingdom's powerful elites.

MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat failed to win enough support from pro-military and royalist senators in a prime minister vote last month and was later suspended from parliament by the Constitutional Court.

Shinawatra's return

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra landed in a private jet at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport at 9 am (0200 GMT) on Tuesday, greeted by hundreds of noisy "Red Shirt" supporters waving banners and singing songs.

Thaksin emerged briefly from the terminal building to bow and offer a floral garland at a portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn as a mark of respect before waving to supporters.

More Red Shirts lined the streets as the former Manchester City owner was taken to the Supreme Court.

There, he was ordered to serve eight years for three convictions passed in his absence - one linked to his former Shin Corp company, another linked to a bank loan, and a lottery case.

Thaksin, 74, was convicted in four cases in his absence, although the statute of limitations has expired in one.

Even after the court ruling, it is unclear how long Thaksin will stay in jail.

The timing of his return, as his party assumes power, has led many to speculate that a backroom deal has been done to allow him leniency.

"Welcome back to Thailand daddy. My father has now arrived in Thailand safely and has entered the legal process," his daughter Paetongtarn wrote on Instagram, with a photo of Thaksin with his three children and seven grandchildren in the airport's VIP lounge.

Crimson supporters

Thaksin said he was willing to face justice in order to return home and see his grandchildren - though he has long maintained the criminal charges against him are politically motivated.

"I would like to request permission to return to live on Thai soil and share the air with my fellow Thai brothers and sisters," he posted Monday on Twitter, which has been rebranded as X.

For all his long absence from the country, Thaksin remains Thailand's most influential - and controversial - politician of modern times.

Loved by the rural poor for policies including cheap healthcare and the minimum wage, he is reviled by the pro-military and royalist elite who saw his rule as corrupt, authoritarian and a threat to Thai social order.

Parties linked to Thaksin have dominated elections since 2001 - until this year, when the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats.