The House of Representatives is expected to begin voting after they convene at 9am local time.

Anutin’s bid to become Thailand’s third prime minister in just over two years is virtually secured, with support from 289 lawmakers in the 492-member lower house – well above the 247 needed for a majority. His backers include the progressive People’s Party, the largest bloc.

Anutin will be contested by Chaikasem Nitisiri, a candidate of the rival bloc led by Pheu Thai Party, backed by influential former leader Thaksin Shinawatra.

Anutin has served in cabinets spanning Thailand’s political divide, from populist Thaksin Shinawatra to coup leader Prayuth Chan-Ocha, and most recently Paetongtarn.

For nearly a decade, he played the role of coalition kingmaker, leveraging provincial networks and business ties. A 2009 US Embassy cable released by WikiLeaks also described him as close to the then-crown prince.

The race to form a new government was triggered by the Constitutional Court’s decision to remove Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, as prime minister for ethical misconduct and the subsequent split in her coalition. The caretaker government headed by Pheu Thai then failed in its bid to dissolve parliament and block Anutin’s rise to power.

Once confirmed, Anutin, 58, will head a fragile coalition that includes pro-establishment parties which previously blocked the predecessor of the People’s Party – Move Forward – from taking power after the 2023 election. Under a deal with the People’s Party, he must dissolve parliament within four months of being sworn in and delivering his policy statement.

New elections would give People’s Party the chance to pick up more seats. It leads rivals by a wide margin in opinion polls and its leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut is ranked as the politician most preferred to be premier.

But it doesn’t have a prime minister nominee left after its predecessor Move Forward was dissolved and its sole candidate Pita Limjaroenrat was banned from politics for 10 years.

Thailand has a long history of political upheaval, with royalist judges and generals repeatedly toppling elected leaders. Paetongtarn became the fifth Shinawatra-linked premier dismissed by the Constitutional Court.