Prachai to quit politics

Prachai's abrupt departure from politics happened in the wake of his conviction for stock manipulation on Tuesday.

It remains unclear whether Prachai will be allowed to remove himself from the race. The election law stipulates for the mandatory stay after allocating ballot numbers. But a campaigning provision also stipulates for every candidate to adopt a party's banner to qualify for the race. As Prachai has already resigned his membership, he might be able to quit the race because of disqualification.

Following his announcement, he held hours-long talks with ranking party members, including his secretary general Anongwan Thepsuthin.

Afterwards he held a second press conference saying he would need a few days to reconsider whether to quit his party leadership. He was reportedly under pressure from his supporters to lead the party for the remaining two weeks of campaigning.

Should he reaffirm his departure, top contenders to succeed him include his younger brother Pramuan Leophairatana and Anongwan.

The Nation