Pattaya —
Former Pattaya mayor and powerful political veteran Sontaya Khunplume led his team of 12 politicians to rejoin the main opposition Pheu Thai party on Thursday, February 9th.
Sontaya and his team were grandly welcomed with a red carpet by Pheu Thai party leader Cholnan Srikaew, who said the former mayor would help his party secure a landslide win in Chonburi in the upcoming election.
Reports say Sonthaya is the defacto ruler of the east coast regions of Pattaya and Bangsaen and has a strong regional support base in the east.
He was once a member of the Thai Rak Thai Party before it was dissolved and rebranded to the Pheu Thai Party.
Sonthaya stated that he decided to rejoin the Pheu Thai party because he liked its policies and the determination to address problems for the country. The political veteran also criticized incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for what Sonthaya called his failure to tackle corruption and economic disparities during his 8-year tenure.
