According to polls, Paetongtarn Shinawatra is the favorite in Thailand’s general election. The lawmaker had been campaigning through video link until Saturday before giving delivery.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the opposition favorite in Thailand’s next general elections, delivered birth on Monday, just two weeks before the vote.
Paetongtarn, the daughter of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, announced the birth on social media and shared a photo of her infant.
“Hi, my name is Prutthasin Sooksawas, nickname Thasin,” read the post. “Thanks for all the support. In a few days, wait for my mum to recover first, then I will meet the press.”
Paetongtarn’s pregnancy does not appear to have hampered her fight for the top slot, as she appeared on the campaign trail via video link on Saturday.
The 36-year-old is the Pheu Thai Party’s front-runner. She has risen to the top of the list of voters’ preferred candidates in the May 14 elections.
The Shinawatra family controls the political party. Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn’s father, was deposed in a 2006 coup and now lives in Dubai to evade corruption allegations he claims are politically motivated. He was convicted and sentenced in his absence.
