Thailand PM Candidate Paetongtarn Shinawatra Gives Birth Two Weeks Before Elections

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, a leading candidate touted to become Thailand’s next prime minister, gave birth to a baby boy just two weeks before election day, Guardian reported.

The 36-year-old politician, who leads the opposition Pheu Thai Party, announced the birth of her son on social media with a photo from the hospital. She added that she will speak with the media in a few days, when she is strong enough.

”Hello. My name is Phrithasin Suksawat. My nickname is ”Thasin”..Thank you for all your support. In a few days, the mother is waiting to be strong before going to meet the media brothers,” the image was captioned. The newborn is her second child.

Before the birth, the 36-year-old had campaigned vigorously for the despite being heavily pregnant.

As per Al Jazeera, Ms.Shinawatra has been the voters’ first or second choice for prime minister because of her family’s name recognition and her party’s enduring popularity. She is expected to win the most seats in the 500-member lower house in two weeks’ time.

Notably, she is the youngest daughter of billionaire and former prime minister Thaksin . As per CNN, he was ousted from power by a military coup in 2006 over corruption-related cases. Facing a potential prison sentence, he went into self-imposed exile.

In a tweet on Monday, Mr Shinawatra said he was ”delighted” about the birth of his grandson, his seventh grandchild.

”All of my seven grandchildren were born while I had to stay abroad. I may ask for permission to return to take care of my grandchildren since I am almost 74 years old this coming July,” he wrote.

Not only her father, but her aunt has also previously served as prime minister in the politically turbulent kingdom. She also lives in self-imposed exile to avoid prison convictions.

However, the Shinawatras have retained a loyal support base among rural voters in north and northeast Thailand, according to the Guardian. Parties associated with her family have won the most seats in every election since 2001.

The general election is set to take place on May 14 and the campaigning is in the final phase.