Samak seeks Thai PM post party again, party split

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's Samak Sundaravej accepted his party's nomination on Thursday to return as prime minister, the official party spokesman said, resuming a collision course with protesters hell-bent on stopping him.

"The party chief declared his determination at the meeting to return to work for the country again," chief spokesman Kudeb Saikrachang told reporters after Samak met officials at the headquarters of his ruling People Power Party.

"Tomorrow, the PPP and other coalition parties will re-elect Samak as the prime minister again," Kudeb said, two days after a court removed him from office after finding him guilty of a conflict of interest.

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), whose protesters are occupying the seat of national government in Bangkok, said they would not accept Samak, who also faced opposition from within his own party ahead of Friday's parliamentary vote.

A spokesman for a PPP faction claiming to have 70 MPs said they would abstain from the vote, saying Samak's return would exacerbate weeks of political tension and damage the party.

The Constitutional Court ruled on Tuesday that Samak, accused by the PAD of being a puppet for ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, broke the law in hosting cooking shows on commercial television while in office.

"The main principle is that Samak, who violated the constitution many times, should not become PM again," Somsak Kosaisook, a PAD leader, said at Government House.

"No one in the PPP should become prime minister or a minister in the government," he added, suggesting the PAD would continue with its action that has paralyzed government and unsettled investors.

The court's ruling against 73-year-old Samak removed him from office but did not ban him from returning.

The PPP, which has close to an outright majority in parliament with 225 of the 470 seats, has called the chamber into special session on Friday to vote for a new prime minister.

CARETAKER LEADER IS THAKSIN KIN

The country is being run by a caretaker cabinet under Somchai Wongsawat, a brother-in-law of Thaksin. The controversial former prime minister is now in exile in London, having skipped bail last month along with his wife to avoid corruption charges.

Army commander Anupong Paochina urged Somchai to lift the state of emergency Samak imposed last week after a man was killed in street battles between pro- and anti-government groups.

Anupong, who pointedly refused Samak's request for the army to use force to evict the PAD from Government House, argued that the emergency rule, which appears to be largely symbolic, was damaging the country's image and economy.

The situation has become much calmer, although underlying political tensions remain.

At least 2,000 police would be deployed to parliament on Friday to prevent clashes between government supporters and protesters, a senior officer told Reuters. Another 3,000 police would be mobilized to man key government buildings.

Consumer confidence is low, falling in August to its lowest level this year. Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee has said this was one reason why the government's economic growth target would be missed. It had forecast 5 to 6 percent for 2008.

The stock market turned lower in the afternoon after news of Samak's nomination, ending down 1.33 percent. It has fallen around 25 percent since the street protests began in late May.

(Additional reporting by Chalathip Thirasoonthrakul and Nopporn Wong-Anan)