BANGKOK: Thailand’s ruling Pheu Thai Party on Thursday (Sep 4) said it would nominate its candidate ahead of a parliamentary vote for a new prime minister this week, a late move that could complicate a bid by the rival Bhumjaithai Party and its pact with the opposition.

Pheu Thai, which has been struggling to court support since suffering the loss of its prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to a court ruling last week, said it would nominate Chaikasem Nitisiri, a veteran lawyer with limited Cabinet experience, to go head-to-head with Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul for the premiership.

In the latest twist in a chaotic few days in Thai politics, Pheu Thai said it was prepared to call a snap election immediately if Chaikasem, a 77-year-old former attorney-general, gets the votes required on Friday to become prime minister, its secretary-general Sorawong Thienthong told reporters.

The play by Pheu Thai, the once dominant party of the billionaire Shinawatra family, could undermine a pact announced a day earlier between Bhumjaithai and the People's Party, the biggest force in parliament, under which Anutin would get its decisive backing in return for his promise to dissolve the house in four months.

The hugely popular People's Party, whose predecessor won the 2023 election but was denied power by lawmakers allied with the royalist military, holds nearly a third of the seats and is keen to have a new election, a contest it would be well placed to win. It says it will not join the next government.

But People's Party deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun said it would honour its agreement to back Anutin.

"We have already signed a contract with Bhumijaithai. We stand by the original resolution," she told Reuters. Pheu Thai has also sought to stymie Anutin's campaign by petitioning the king to dissolve the house.

Pheu Thai's Phumtham Wechayachai, the acting premier, reiterated the party would deliver on its promise if Chaikasem is elected premier.