Thailand's next PM battle: The battle for the next prime minister of Thailand took a big turn as the country’s Parliament voted to deny Pita Limjaroenrat a second chance to be confirmed for the post. Pita’s progressive Move Forward Party had won a surprise victory in the May election.
Pita had summoned a coalition of parties that held a majority in the House of Representatives. However, his nomination for the prime minister was defeated in a joint vote of the House and Senate the previous week.
On Wednesday, a joint session debated if Pita could be nominated for the second term. House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha had put the question for a vote.
The motion denying him the second chance was passed 395-312 with eight abstentions. The second round of voting was scheduled for July 27, according to the Speaker.
The Speaker, in an interview, had said that he expected a pre-planned obstacle.
Thailand caretaker government
A caretaker administration has run Thailand since March and over 60 days have passed since Pita’s party’s win over military-backed parties in a May election. This was considered as a public rejection of nine years of the generals-controlled government.
Pita’s supporters, came out in hundreds in numbers peacefully in Bangkok to protest against the bid to stop him.
The protestors alleged that the voices of millions of people were not heard. They expressed their ire against the alleged attempts by pro-military elements to keep Pita out of power.
Pita's downfall, according to Thai political experts, was essentially foreordained by the 2017 Constitution, which was passed during military control and was intended to thwart attempts to overthrow the existing royalist order with measures like allowing non-elected senators to vote on the appointment of prime ministers.
This was the second setback to Pita on Wednesday, following his suspension by the Constitutional Court from the Parliament, pending its ruling on if he violated the Constitution by running for the office while holding shares in a media company. He has denied the charges though.
Pita's nomination and appointment as prime minister would have been permitted even after the court's announcement. By the National Assembly's or Parliament's action, it is now ruled out, and Pita is still in legal peril and could receive a jail sentence if the court rules against him.
During a debate on if he could be legally renomiated, Pita said that he would comply with court’s order to step down from his parliamentary post.
“I think Thailand has changed, and will never be the same, since May 14,” Pita said in reference to his party’s election triumph.
Pita's prospects for becoming prime minister already appeared remote. The appointed Senate, which along with the military and courts represents the nation's traditional conservative governing class, rejected him with the exception of 13 members.
His party has vowed to change a law that forbids disparaging Thailand's royal family. Critics claim that the statute, which carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence, is frequently utilised as a political tool.
Move Forward, whose platform was very popular with younger people, also aims to lessen the power of major business monopolies and the military, which has launched more than a dozen coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932.
(With agencies inputs)
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