Biography of Rakchat Party Prime Minister candidates “Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jes Tonawanik and Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn” reveal they share the same attitudes and ideology.
The Rakchat Party has introduced Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jes Tonawanik or Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jes, and Mr. Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn leader of the Rakchat Party, as Rakchat Party’s prime ministerial candidates. The name Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jes has caused quite a stir.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jes, the party’s first prime ministerial candidate, who is not running for MP via party list, is a nationally renowned legal scholar and an expert in constitutional and intellectual property law.
His academic career includes serving as Chair of the Faculty of Law at the Asian Institute of Technology, former Dean of the Pridi Banomyong Faculty of Law at Dhurakij Pundit University, and guest lecturer at several leading universities.
In law and politics, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jes has been an advisor to the Constitution Drafting Committee, playing a key role in providing legal and constitutional expertise, a member of the National Reform Committee focusing on anti-corruption and misconduct prevention, and an intellectual property law advisor.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jes explained his reason for entering politics as the party’s first prime ministerial candidate was that Mr. Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn, Rakchat Party leader, believed the past political situation could not be left unchanged and needed reform. Mr. Chaiwut had discussions with young people who showed commitment but lacked political experience, so he invited Jes to advise. Eventually, Jes was invited to become the party’s prime ministerial candidate, which had been discussed from the start. Seeing the party’s shared attitudes and ideology, Jes accepted without objection and declared his intention to prove himself through work and ideology rather than political funding, emphasizing action over words.
Mr. Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn, leader of the Rakchat Party, before fully entering politics, worked in the private sector and state enterprises, including as a lecturer in the Faculty of Business Administration at Rangsit University, an engineer in leading private companies, and held positions in budget committees and energy agencies, giving him expertise in infrastructure.
Mr. Chaiwut began his political career when first elected MP in 2001 with the Democrat Party and re-elected in 2007 with the Chart Thai Party. In the 2019 election, he became Minister of Digital Economy and Society. In 2021, he launched as the Rakchat Party leader and brought young people into politics to transform the country.