Thailand election panel disqualifies princess as PM candidate

Mike CLARKE / AFP

Thailand's election panel has cut short the political aspirations of Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Sirivadhana Barnavadi after disqualifying her bid to run as the prime ministerial candidate for the March elections.

It echoed King Maha Vajiralongkorn's words that royalty should be "above politics".

The Election Commission released the official list of prime ministerial candidates without the name of the 67-year-old princess.

In a statement, the panel explained that Ubolratana was left out "because every member of the royal family comes within the application of the same rule requiring the monarch to be above politics and to be politically neutral". 

The princess had earlier accepted the nomination of the Thai Raksa Chart party.

More from International

  • Duterte takes responsibility for Philippines drug war

    Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he takes full responsibility for his administration's "war on drugs", in a video message posted on his Facebook account, as he braces for a legal battle at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

  • Arab states and US discuss Gaza reconstruction plan

    Officials from the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine agreed to continue consultations on their Gaza reconstruction plan with US Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, it was announced after a meeting in Qatar on Wednesday.

  • Putin visits Kursk region for first time since Ukrainian incursion

    Russian President Vladimir Putin donned military fatigues for a surprise visit to troops in Russia's western Kursk region on Wednesday, where he ordered them to press their lightning advance and swiftly retake the rest of the area from Ukrainian forces.

  • NASA, SpaceX delay flight that was to retrieve stuck astronauts

    NASA and SpaceX have delayed the launch of a replacement crew of four astronauts to the International Space Station that would have set in motion the long-awaited homecoming of US astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.

  • Pakistan military ends standoff with train hijackers

    Pakistan's military said it had ended a standoff on Wednesday with separatist fighters who had hijacked a passenger train in the country's southwestern Balochistan province and taken hundreds of people hostage.