The 37-year-old daughter of tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra would become the third member of the family to lead Thailand.
Thailand's parliament is set to vote on whether Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, should become the country's next prime minister after the ruling Pheu Thai party nominated her to replace ousted leader Srettha Thavisin.
Parliament will convene in Bangkok at 10:00 a.m. (03:00 GMT) on Friday, two days after the country's top court dismissed Srettha over her decision to appoint a minister who had a criminal conviction.
Paetongtarn is the youngest daughter of billionaire tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra and would become the third member of the family after her father and aunt to hold the country's top job if she wins parliamentary backing.
Srettha's ouster was the latest chapter in a long-running battle between the military, the pro-monarchy establishment and populist parties linked to Thaksin, who shook up the country's formal politics when he was first elected prime minister in 2001.
He spent years in exile after being ousted in a military coup in 2006 and only returned to Thailand last year, the day Pheu Thai formed a government.
The grouping chose Paetongtarn as its replacement candidate at a meeting on Thursday night after none of the other 10 parties in the coalition presented an alternative.
Bhumjaithai, the third-largest party in parliament, said it had “agreed to support a candidate” from Pheu Thai in Friday's vote.
The ruling coalition has 314 seats and requires the approval of more than half of the current 493 lawmakers to become prime minister.
“We are confident that the party and the coalition parties will lead our country,” he said after the party announced its candidacy.
Paetongtarn helped run the hotel division of the family business empire before entering politics three years ago and has never held elected office. She was a near-constant presence in the 2023 election campaign when she was one of Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidates and gave birth just two weeks before polling day.
The reformist Forward Party (MFP) won a majority of seats in parliament, but was prevented from forming a government by the Senate, which at the time was appointed by the military and had the right to veto prime ministerial appointments.
Last week, the constitutional court also voted to dissolve the MFP and ban members of its executive board from politics for 10 years over their promise to amend strict royal defamation laws.
The party has since regrouped as the Popular Party.
Its leader, Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, said the party would not vote to approve a Pheu Thai candidate on Friday and would continue to serve as the opposition.
