PM-elect Yingluck Shinawatra (updated)

The Thai parliament has elected Yingluck Shinawatra as Thailand's first female prime minister. All that remains now is endorsement by His Majesty the King

Yingluck Shinawatra and her family leave Pheu Thai Party headquarters last night after learning that the royal command for her to become prime minister had not yet been given. PATIPAT JANTHONG

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Yingluck is elected PM

Parliament has elected Yingluck Shinawatra as Thailand's new prime minister. All that remains is endorsement from his Majesty the King and the country will have its first female leader.

Many expected that endorsement to come today, but by the evening it seemed clear that wouldn't happen. Most Puea Thai leaders left party headquarters for home. House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont they will resume the wait today.

Veteran politican Sanoh Thienthong nominated Ms Yingluck, much to the amusement of the MPs when he mistakenly said she was being nominated for the post of Minister of the Interior, his old position. He quickly rectified his mistake and and voting began shortly afterwards.

Ms Yingluck received 296 votes, well over the 250 required. There were 197 abstentions and 3 MPs voted against her.

The Pheu Thai party then decked out its head office in preparation for the acceptance of the royal command which the party had anticipated would arrive last evening.

Politicians from Pheu Thai and its coalition partners donned full white formal attire for the occasion, but were seen leaving the party head office late last night having failed to witness their leader being endorsed for the job.

Earlier in the day, Pheu Thai list MP Plodprasop Suraswadi told reporters that the royal command was likely to be received between 5pm-8pm yesterday.

House Speaker Somsak said he forwarded the name of Ms Yingluck as prime minister-elect to the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary yesterday afternoon.

The office will set an appointment for him to receive the royal endorsement of Ms Yingluck later.

headquarters – the place where an organisation or company has its main offices สำนักงานใหญ่ กองบัญชาการ
command – an order คำสั่ง
endorsement – official approval การรับรอง การลงนามในเอกสาร
female – being a woman or a girl สตรี, ผู้หญิง, เพศหญิ
headquarters – the place where an organisation or company has its main offices สำนักงานใหญ่ กองบัญชาการ
House speaker – the person who is in charge of most of the activities of the House of Representatives ประธานสภาผู้แทนราษฎร
resume – to begin again after stopping for a period of time  เริ่มอีกครั้ง, กลับมาอีกครั้ง
veteran – a person who has a lot of experience in a particular area or activity (สส.)หน้าเก่า, (สส.)หลายสมัย, ผู้อาวุโส
nominate – to formally propose someone for a job เสนอชื่อ
amusement – the feeling that you have when something is funny or amusing, or it entertains you ความขบขัน
post – a job in a company or organisation ตำแหน่งการงาน
rectify – to put right something that is wrongแก้ให้ถูก, ทำให้ถูกต้อง
abstention – an act of choosing not to use a vote either in favour of or against something การงดออกเสียง
deck out – to decorate somebody/something with something  ประดับตกแต่ง
anticipate – to expect something คาดหมาย,มุ่งหวัง
coalition partners – the political parties making up the government พรรคร่วมรัฐบาล
don – to put on a piece of clothing ใส่เสื้อ
formal attire – special clothing you wear for important occasions
witness – to see something happen มองเห็น, เป็นพยาน
(party-list) – a system that gives each party in an election a number of seats in relation to the number of votes its candidates receive ระบบสัดส่วน, ระบบปาร์ตี้ลิสต์
-elect – of someone who has been elected to a position but has not yet taken power ว่าที่
appointment – a formal arrangement to meet or visit somebody at a particular time, especially for a reason connected with their work  การนัดหมาย, การนัดพบ

Yesterday's story: Historic day

Today will be a historic day in Thai politics as parliament is set to elect Yingluck Shinawatra as the country's first female prime minister.

The parliamentary session is scheduled to open at 10:00 am and, according to Post Today, veteran politician SanohThienthong has been selected to make the nomination. Interestingly, Mr Sanoh had a very public break with Ms Yingluck's brother Thaksin Shinawatra while Mr Thaksin was prime minister, so this is a good sign that old wounds have been healed.

I'll be back with more reports later in the day.

historic –  having great historical importance ที่สำคัญในประวัติศาสตร์
female – being a woman or a girl สตรี, ผู้หญิง, เพศหญิ
session – a formal meeting of an institution such as a parliament or a court การประชุม
scheduled – planned to happen at a particular time or day ตามตารางเวลา
veteran – a person who has a lot of experience in a particular area or activity (สส.)หน้าเก่า, (สส.)หลายสมัย, ผู้อาวุโส,
select – to choose  คัดเลือก
nomination – an official suggestion that someone should get a job  การเสนอชื่อเข้ารับตำแหน่ง
wound – an injury in which your skin or flesh is damaged บาดแผล
heal – to become healthy again; to make something healthy again  หายดี, รักษาให้หาย