10-7-2023 (BANGKOK) The seven parties in the eight-member political alliance led by the Move Forward Party (MFP) are asking the MFP to clarify how it would handle the parliamentary vote to select a new prime minister in the event that party leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, fails the first vote set for Thursday. The prospective coalition partners are also questioning how many times the vote will have to be organized to select a new prime minister. House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha previously said that the vote would be repeated until a new prime minister is successfully selected.
The parties are also seeking a response from the MFP regarding rumours that there is a proposal to keep repeating the vote until the Senate’s term expires in May next year if Mr Pita fails to secure sufficient votes from the senators to become the new prime minister.
Prasert Chantararuangthong, secretary-general of Pheu Thai Party, a key partner in the MFP-led alliance, has said that he does not expect the MFP to discuss what it would do in case Mr Pita fails the first vote as the party appears confident that he will win. Mr Prasert was referring to discussions at the next meeting of the eight parties on Tuesday, which was called by Chaithawat Tulathon, secretary-general of the MFP, ahead of Thursday’s vote.
Senator Amphol Jindawatana has said on Facebook that he intends to vote for a prime minister nominated by those parties with support from more than half of MPs. That is the same principle he followed when casting his vote for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha in 2019, he said.
Meanwhile, an opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll, found that most people believe the eight parties will succeed in their push for Mr Pita to become prime minister.
Activist Ruangkrai Leekitwattana has said that he believes he has dug up new information adding weight to Mr Pita’s alleged ineligibility to contest the election and become an MP and a prime minister. According to Mr Ruangkrai, Mr Pita has earned money from writing and publishing at least four books, which might be considered the operation of a newspaper as defined under the Printing Registration Act 2007. He said he will next file a petition with the Election Commission asking the poll regulator to investigate whether his theory holds weight.
Senator Somchai Sawangkarn has threatened the EC with legal action if it attempts any further delay in deciding if Mr Pita is ineligible to become an MP and be nominated as a prime ministerial candidate. Mr Somchai said the EC should have petitioned the Constitutional Court to hear Mr Pita’s iTV Plc shareholding case by now, and suspend him from duties while processing the case.
Deputy Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) leader Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn has said that if the parties in the caretaker government have to nominate a candidate in the election for PM in case the MFP-alliance fails the vote repeatedly, the parties will have to discuss first who they should nominate. The nominees could include Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon or Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
