Security increased ahead of the vote on who to nominate for the post of prime minister

Security has been increased throughout Bangkok on 11 September 2008 ahead of the vote on who to nominate for the post of prime minister. The nomination for prime minister will be submitted to the House to be voted on at approximately 0730 local time on 12 September. Nearly 1,000 police officers will be deployed at that time around Parliament to ensure no unrest occurs. Three individuals are in the running for the People Power Party (PPP) nomination, including Samak Sundaravej, the current caretaker Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat -- who is former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's brother-in-law -- and Sompong Amornwiwat. The next prime minister will likely be a PPP member. Despite concerns over supporting Samak, the majority of PPP legislators stated that they will back him. However, more than 70 PPP members stated they will not endorse Samak and would abstain from voting if he is elected in the House. The interim caretaker Cabinet stated that the state of emergency should be lifted once the new prime minister is elected, because it is appears to be harming tourism (which is down by more than 70 percent) and investor confidence, which can have long term negative effects on Thailand. Officials stated that the state of emergency has also been ineffective in halting protests or helping to remove protesters from key locations, including the Government House. Meanwhile, all train services in the south will fully resume operations on 12 September, according to an announcement by the State Railway of Thailand. Rail service has been halted since 29 August due to protests that aligned with the opposition People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD). More than 5,000 PAD members announced on 11 September that they will protest in front of the Parliament on 12 September in opposition of the potential re-election of Samak as prime minister. They stated that they will meet at the PAD stronghold of Makkawan Rangsan Bridge at 0800 local time and march to Parliament. Many in the population no longer support the return of Samak, fearing that it will incite further unrest and a potential military involvement. In recent statements military officials stated that if the country is not stabilized in the near future they would have to step in.