Thaksin brother-in-law Somchai elected Thai PM in party-line vote

BANGKOK, Sept 17 (TNA) -- Caretaker prime minister Somchai Wongsawat,
brother-in-law of ousted fugitive prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was elected Wednesday as Thailand's 26th prime minister, defeating his rival, opposition Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, by a large margin in the House of Representatives.

Mr. Somchai, who was deputy prime minister and education minister in the
previous administration of Samak Sundaravej, obtained 298 votes while Mr.
Abhisit received 163 votes. Five MPs abstained from voting.

After being declared as new prime minister, Mr. Somchai thanked members of
the Lower House for entrusting him to office, saying that he "would
perform the duty to his best".

But his appointment as the Kingdom's top minister takes place amid
warnings by anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD)
protesters that they would not accept any member of the ruling People
Power Party (PPP) as Thailand's premier.

The PAD has accused the PPP-led government of being a proxy for Mr.
Thaksin, who is now living in Britain.
Mr. Somchai is deputy PPP leader.

PAD demonstrators hav e occupied Government House, the Thai prime
minister's offices, since August 26.

Mr. Somchai's nomination as prime minister came after Mr. Samak was
disqualified from office last week by the Constitution Court, being found
guilty and in violation of the charter by accepting payments for hosting
cooking shows on two commercial television stations. (TNA)