Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra posted on social media on Tuesday saying he wants to return home to Thailand by July.
He wrote on Twitter: "Once again, I would like to ask for permission. I am determined to return home by July before my birthday to take care of my grandchildren. It has been nearly 17 years since I was parted from my family. I am already old."
Thaksin's message reiterated his wish to be home for the second time this month. July 26 is his birthday.
On Tuesday he posted again on Twitter at 10.26am: "Don't worry that I will be a burden for the Pheu Thai Party. I will enter the legal process."
This follows an earlier post on May 1, when he tweeted that he was delighted that his daughter Paetongtarn "Ung Ing" Shinawatra had just given birth to his seventh grandchild, a boy nicknamed Thasin.
He said he will be 74 in July and asked for permission to return home to see his grandchildren, saying all seven of them were born after he left the country.
His first tweet drew mixed reactions. Critics said it was his last push for his Pheu Thai Party to achieve its goal of winning the election by a landslide as the Move Forward Party's popularity was growing fast.
The second is certain to draw even more reaction.
On Oct 21, 2008, the Supreme Court sentenced him to two years in jail for corruption in a Ratchadapisek land purchase case.
Thaksin fled the country shortly before the court handed down the sentence.
Thaksin has also been sentenced to prison terms of more than 10 years in total after the court found him guilty in many other corruption cases.
