THERE are just under five weeks to go until Thailand’s next general election, which will take place on May 14.

This heated contest will mark the latest chapter in the ongoing political showdown between the wealthy Shinawatra family and the conservative pro-military establishment.

Last week, the deadline passed for political parties to submit their prime ministerial candidates to the Election Commission. Thailand’s next leader will be named by the end of August at a bicameral sitting of the new Parliament and the appointed senate.

Incumbent Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is looking to extend his stay in office, but if he succeeds, he can stay in power for only half of the four-year term as he will have reached the maximum of eight years as permitted under the Constitution.

Here are some of the leading contenders for the top job of heading South-east Asia’s second-largest economy.

Prayut Chan-o-cha

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The 69-year-old former army chief came to power following a 2014 coup that ousted the civilian government under ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra.

He became a civilian leader after the last election in 2019, and is currently contesting as part of the new, conservative United Thai Nation Party.

The military veteran will have to overcome the odds if he is to remain as PM, as he continues to lag his rivals in various opinion polls. Last week, a Super Poll survey found that only one in six Thais (16.3 per cent) support him as their next leader.

Prayut is hoping to win votes with promises of looking after the well-being of Thais and the country’s stability, as well as protecting the monarchy.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra

Eight months pregnant and still busy on the campaign trail, the youngest child of exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and niece of Yingluck is one of the favourites to be PM. A new poll last month showed the Pheu Thai Party leader’s support level at 32.1 per cent, the highest among all the hopefuls.

The 36-year-old Paetongtarn is a political debutant and is known by her nickname, “Ung Ing”. She was born in the capital Bangkok and went to top schools in Thailand and the UK. She was also present at many events involving her father when he was in government.

Paetongtarn and her team have been working the ground in Thailand’s rural north, pledging to revive populist policies such as nearly doubling the daily minimum wage to 600 baht (S$23.30).

Srettha Thavisin

Earlier this month, the 60-year-old Srettha resigned as CEO of Thailand’s luxury real estate developer Sansiri, paving the way for him to be named as one of Pheu Thai’s three PM candidates.

Srettha is active on Twitter where he is very vocal, and he is a popular figure among the local business community. He is the party’s chief adviser and a member of its economic committee that is focused on policies such as the minimum wage increase, a minimum salary guarantee for fresh graduates, and measures to prop up crop prices.

Prawit Wongsuwan

Prawit Wongsuwan may be turning 78 in a few months’ time, but this veteran dealmaker and current deputy prime minister doesn’t show signs of slowing down.

The former army chief is the PM nominee for the Palang Pracharath Party, after Prayut’s departure. Prawit was a key figure of the military junta that ruled Thailand for almost five years following the 2014 coup.

He is known to have a love for expensive watches. In 2017, he was photographed shielding his eyes from the sun during a photo shoot, revealing a watch that was later identified as a Richard Mille model worth around US$100,000.

A year later, he was acquitted of failing to declare assets when he was found to own about two dozen luxury watches that would have been impossible to pay for with his salary.

Anutin Charnvirakul

Anutin is a deputy prime minister and the current health minister who oversaw Thailand’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccination programme. Notably, the 56-year-old came in for some criticism when he described the coronavirus as “just a flu” in the early stages of the outbreak.

Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party, which holds 50 seats in Parliament, contested the 2019 election on a promise to decriminalise and promote medical cannabis. That inadvertently led to a sharp rise in recreational use, with dispensaries commonplace in Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai and other cities.

Pirapan Salirathavibhaga

The secretary-general of the United Thai Nation Party is its second candidate to be PM, after Prayut. The 64-year-old is no stranger to politics, having served as justice minister under the administration of Abhisit Vejjajiva.

Prayut has declared that he has “more than 100 per cent confidence” in Pirapan’s ability to succeed him as prime minister in 2025 if the party wins the election and Prayut continues in office.

Sudarat Keyuraphan

Apart from Paetongtarn, the other prominent female who has thrown her name into the hat is Sudarat, a 61-year-old who was once the strategy chief of the Pheu Thai Party. She is now the chairperson of the Thai Sang Thai Party.

She has held numerous high-level positions in government before, including Minister of Public Health and Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

Sudarat is an outside bet to win, but she hopes that her active involvement in politics will inspire more women to step forward in order to bring diversity and a greater voice to Thailand’s political scene.