BANGKOK: Thai Parliament will convene next Thursday (July 27) to vote for the next prime minister as the 749-member bicameral assembly could not convene today after Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s re-nomination was rejected.
Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said political parties will nominate prime ministerial candidates, and then there will be a debate but Pita cannot be re-nominated as it is against Article 41 of the Constitution.
“A candidate can only be nominated once in each parliamentary session,” he told reporters on Wednesday night.
Wan Muhamad Noor said a prime minister must secure the necessary 375 votes in the joint sitting.
In May 14 General Election, MFP which won 151 seats and garnered more than 14.2 million votes, is leading a coalition of eight parties that secured 312 of the 500 seats in the House of Representatives. Pheu Thai won 141 seats and is the second-largest party in the coalition.
However, Pita being the sole prime ministerial nominee only received 324 votes, while 182 votes were against him and 199 abstained in the first round prime minister vote on July 13.
There were only 705 members present for the sitting. Only 13 of the 249 senators (one resigned) backed Pita with the rest voting against him or abstaining.
On Wednesday (July 16), Pita’s quest to become prime minister came to an abrupt end after he was suspended from Parliament by the constitutional court which will decide if he should be disqualified from parliament for contesting in the election while owning shares in a defunct media company.
Thai election laws prohibit those owning shares in media companies from contesting in elections.
Pita alleged ineligible to run for office because he held shares in a media company when he registered his candidacy on May 14 General Election.
After Pita’s bid fails, the MFP-led eight-party coalition is expected to nominate Srettha Thavisin, a real estate tycoon and political newcomer from the Pheu Thai party, as their next candidate for prime minister. -Bernama
