Thailand’s ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra leaves country amid turmoil

BANGKOK: Thailand’s influential former premier Thaksin Shinawatra left the country late on Thursday, according to two sources and Thai media reports, a day before a parliamentary vote for the next prime minister and ahead of a court ruling that could see him jailed.

The departure of the billionaire Thaksin, who spent a total of 15 years in self-imposed exile, comes as the coalition government of the ruling Pheu Thai party he founded is in turmoil, facing a major challenge from a rival party ahead of Friday’s house vote. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will rule on a case involving Thaksin that could potentially see him serve prison time, which he avoided following his vaunted return to Thailand in 2023 by spending his entire detention in hospital on medical grounds.