An opposition frontrunner in Thailand’s upcoming general elections has given birth two weeks before the polling day, her party confirmed on Monday.
“She gave birth this morning,” Rinthipond Varinvatchararoj, Pheu Thai acting spokesperson, told Agence France-Presse, referring to Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
It is unclear how long the daughter of billionaire former leader Thaksin Shinawatra will rest, but Rinthipond was confident that she would be present at Pheu Thai’s final rally in Bangkok on 12 May.
The kingdom is entering the final stretch before the 14 May election with reformist groups, including Pheu Thai and Move Forward, surging ahead of establishment parties.
Paetongtarn is one of Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidates and has been polling strongly.
On her official Instagram page, Paetongtarn said the baby boy would be named Prutthasin Sooksawas and nicknamed “Thasin.”
The news was also shared by her father, who said on Twitter that he would return to the kingdom to care for his seventh grandchild.
Ousted in a 2006 coup, Thaksin lives in Dubai to avoid corruption charges he says are politically motivated.
“All of my seven grandchildren were born while I lived abroad. I will go back to raise my grandchildren,” he wrote, without specifying when he might return.
It is not the first time Thaksin has promised to return to Thailand.