The 74-year-old billionaire, who won two elections but was ousted in a military coup in 2006, has long said he wants to return home – but faces multiple criminal charges which he says , are politically motivated.
On Saturday, Thaksin said he would delay his planned return due to a medical appointment.
“I would like to postpone my return date to Thailand by no more than two weeks,” he posted on Twitter, recently renamed X.
His daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 36, one of the candidates for prime minister from the second-placed Pheu Thai party, announced last month that her father was due to arrive on August 10.
Thaksin-linked parties have dominated Thai politics since 2001, but have lost two prime ministers to military coups and another to a court ruling.
A bogeyman of Thailand’s pro-military and royalist establishment, Thaksin’s return has the potential to inflame an already tense political situation.
The kingdom is in a political stalemate after the military-dominated Senate blocked the leader of the Moving Forward Party (MFP) from becoming prime minister after winning the most parliamentary seats in May elections.
Pheu Thai has since been trying to form a government, and real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin is expected to be his candidate for prime minister.
The Speaker of the House pushed back the date for the prime minister’s vote after a ruling by the Constitutional Court on August 16.
Thaksin has lived in exile, mainly in Dubai, since 2008 and regularly addresses supporters on the Clubhouse social media platform under the pseudonym Tony Woodsome.
He was convicted during his time abroad in four criminal cases, one of which has now passed the statute of limitations.
His sentences for the other three total 10 years, and he is still under investigation in another case.
In May, he said he was ready to face justice.
