Thailand's Samak appointed PM-elect

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Thailand's parliament chose a prime-minister-elect on Monday, according to Thai television.

The parliament's choice, Samak Sundaravej, will become prime minister of Thailand if the king confirms the parliament's choice.

The return of parliamentary rule after 16 months of military rule follows elections in December in which the People Power Party (PPP), the party of deposed Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra, won nearly half the seats in the lower house.

Billionaire businessman Thaksin was ousted in a military coup after allegations of widespread corruption in his government. He remains in exile in Britain.

Samak is a political ally of Thaksin. It remains to be seen what role, if any, Thaksin will play in a future government. He and his family are facing court cases accusing them of massive corruption.

When his wife returned to the country earlier this month, she was presented with an arrest warrant by police.

Pojamarn Shinawatra appeared before the Supreme Court and was released on 5 million baht (about $168,000) bail and ordered not to leave the country.

Samak has already said that if he became prime minister he would amend the constitution to allow the deposed leader to return to Thai politics. Analysts are uncertain, however, how much influence Thaksin -- who won three elections and is still immensely popular in his homeland -- could exert from abroad.

"He has a lot of influence right now because he's behind the scenes. He's probably providing cash flow but once they have power in their hands they will be more independent of him," Chris Baker, an author on Thai politics, told CNN. E-mail to a friend

Dan Rivers contributed to this report.