Bangkok: "Supajee" will not be attending any events, presumably waiting for the Bhumjaithai Party's statement tomorrow. Supajee declined to chair the 'Commerce New Year Mega Sale 2026' event, presumably to avoid answering questions about the Bhumjaithai Party's prime minister candidate. The party has announced its election policy and candidate lineup for December 24th.
According to Thai News Agency, Commerce Minister Supajee Suthamphan assigned Permanent Secretary Wutikrai Leewiraphan to preside over the opening of the 'Commerce Discount New Year Mega Sale 2026' event, held this afternoon at the Ministry of Commerce. This is believed to be because she is reluctant to answer media questions about her candidacy for Prime Minister from the Bhumjaithai Party. Yesterday, Ms. Supajee, who presided over the Department of Business Development's event on combating nominee and fraudulent accounting, also declined to give any interviews. This follows the Bhumjaithai Party's announcement on December 24th that they will unveil their election policies and a "dream team" including Anutin, Sihasak, Ekniti, Supajee, Chaiyanok, and Sabida, along with candidates for both the party-list and constituency systems.
Most recently at Government House, Ms. Supajee briefly answered media questions regarding the clarity of rumors that she had accepted the nomination as the Bhumjaithai Party's prime ministerial candidate, saying, "You'll hear it soon. You'll know soon." She then immediately left Government House.
Previously, on December 18th, Ms. Supajee responded to questions about being approached by Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, to be a candidate for prime minister, stating that she needed to consider carefully how what she would do would further benefit the country. She also needed to discuss the matter with all parties, including her family, because her initial intention was only to accept her current duties for the short term. She emphasized that her family supports her and is happy with her work as Minister of Commerce, as it benefits the country, but she lacks time for her family due to working every day without days off.
Ms. Supajee then asked the reporters if they wanted her to be a candidate for Prime Minister, to which she replied that they did because there were no other options. She then responded briefly, "Thank you for all the encouragement," and added that she would think carefully before making a decision, as the role she had been approached for was a crucial one for the country.