BANGKOK (AP) — The bitter battle to name Thailand’s next prime minister took a major turn Wednesday when Parliament voted to deny Pita Limjaroenrat, whose progressive Move Forward Party won a surprise victory in May elections, a second chance. to be confirmed for the position.
Pita had put together a coalition of parties with a majority in the House of Representatives. But his nomination for prime minister was defeated in a joint House-Senate vote last week, with conservative military-appointed senators mostly rejecting his endorsement.
A joint session on Wednesday debated whether Pita could be nominated for a second time, and Speaker of the House Wan Muhamad Noor Matha put the issue to a vote. A motion to deny him a second chance passed by a vote of 395 to 312, with eight abstentions. Parliament’s meeting then adjourned with no immediate indication of when it would next vote on a new prime minister.
It was the second blow suffered by Pita on Wednesday, after the Constitutional Court suspended him from Parliament pending a ruling on whether he violated electoral law.
The court’s announcement would still have allowed for Pita’s nomination and selection as prime minister. That is now ruled out by Parliament action, and Pita remains at legal risk, subject to possible jail time if the court rules against him.
Pita, during a debate on whether he could legally be re-elected, said that he would comply with the court order.
“I think Thailand has changed and it will never be the same since May 14,” Pita said, referring to her party’s election victory. “The people have won half the way. There is another half. Although I still won’t be able to do my duty, I would like to ask all members to help take care of people from now on.”
«Thank you very much,» he said before leaving the chamber to the applause of his followers.
Pita’s chances of being appointed prime minister already looked slim. He was rejected by all but 13 members of the appointed Senate, which along with the military and the courts represents the country’s traditional conservative ruling class.
His party has vowed to amend a law making it illegal to defame Thailand’s royal family. Critics say the law, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, is often abused as a political weapon.
Move Forward, whose agenda strongly appealed to younger voters, also seeks to reduce the influence of the military, which has staged more than a dozen coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, and big business monopolies. .
Pita had announced on Monday that he would allow a candidate from another party in his coalition to run for office if he failed to attract substantially more votes on Wednesday. Media focus has already shifted to possible replacements for Pita as a candidate.
The candidate will come from the Pheu Thai party, which won 141 seats in the elections, just 10 fewer than Move Forward’s 151.
In last week’s House and Senate vote, the eight-party coalition received 324 votes, well short of the 376 needed to seize power.
Pita was the only Move Forward candidate, while Pheu Thai registered three names: real estate magnate Srettha Thavisin; Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006; and Chaikasem Nitsiri, the party’s top strategist.
Srettha, who has become the favorite, entered active politics last year and won Paetongtarn’s endorsement on Tuesday.
If a Pheu Thai candidate cannot win parliamentary approval, there will be pressure to form a new coalition, add less liberal partners and leave Move Forward because their position on real reform is seen as an obstacle to a compromise.
Move Forward has stated that it has no interest in serving in a government with parties tainted by links to nine years of military-backed government.
“I think they would be willing to step out of the picture themselves and still feel like they are honoring what they announced to the voters in the pre-election campaign,” said Saowanee T. Alexander, a professor at Ubon Ratchathani University in northeast Thailand.
He said that the issue of the reform of the monarchy «makes it very difficult for politics to advance.»
“I still don’t see how we can remove these obstacles,” Saowanee said.
The possibility of Pita being denied the post of prime minister has angered his supporters and pro-democracy activists, who called for demonstrations on Wednesday. Some 600 people gathered peacefully at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument, a traditional protest site, on Wednesday night.