Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, in his capacity as leader of the ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP), has signed an order appointing Santi Promphat, a deputy leader, as the party’s new secretary-general, succeeding Thammanat Prompao, who was recently sacked, along with 20 other MPs, for making, what the party considered were, “unacceptable” demands.

Santi, who is also the deputy finance minister, will remain in his new position until there is a general election. He was with the Pheu Thai Party before the 2019 general elections and was reportedly close to Thammanat, a highly controversial politician who was convicted of a drug offence in Australia in the 1990’s but managed to rise to power in the second Prayut Chan-o-cha administration, before Thammanat’s fallout with Prayut and the rest of PPRP.

Party-list MP Surasit Nitivutvorrarak has been appointed the party’s registrar, to fill the vacant post.

Other vacant posts in the ruling party will be filled by its executive committee when it meets again in April.