Former Thai prime minister goes to jail same day parliament elects his ally as leader

The parliament of Thailand on Tuesday ended months of deadlock by electing Srettha Thavisin as prime minister, which came on the same day that his political ally, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned from a self-imposed exile and was sent to jail.  

The populist Pheu Thai Party backed Srettha, a 60-year-old real estate tycoon, for the position, and he received 482 votes out of 747 possible in the country's bicameral parliament, according to CNN. 

King Maha Vajirilongkorn still needs to endorse Srettha before he can officially assume the position of prime minister.

Meanwhile, Pheu Thai founder Thaksin returned to the country Tuesday following more than 15 years of self-imposed exile.

Thaksin, a 74-year-old former telecoms tycoon who owned Manchester City Football Club, was prime minister from 2001 until 2006 when he was ousted in a coup as he attended a United Nations meeting in New York.

The former prime minister was taken into police custody in Bangkok, and he was brought to prison to serve an eight year sentence for conflicts of interest and abuse of power, according to Reuters.

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