Global Courant
BANGKOK – A coalition of pro-democracy parties that won Thailand’s general election last month said it is close to getting enough support from the pro-establishment senate to form a government led by Mr Pita Limjaroenrat.
The eight-party alliance has made “satisfactory progress” in winning enough senators to cross the 376 vote threshold in a joint session of parliament that elects the prime minister, according to Ms. Sirikanya Tansakun, a deputy leader of the Move Forward Party who leads the group.
The Harvard-educated Pita needs the support of at least 64 more lawmakers than the current number of the 312-member coalition in the 500-member House of Representatives.
“We are getting support from more and more senators and are almost hitting our target,” Sirikanya told reporters on Tuesday.
News of rising support for Mr Pita may help quell investor concerns about a long-standing political deadlock that has prompted foreign funds to dump the country’s stocks and bonds since the election.
The coalition, which had previously claimed the support of 19 senators, was opposed by a majority of senators over Move Forward’s vow to change the harsh lèse-majesté law that punishes insults against the monarchy.
Move Forward’s general secretary, Chaitawat Tulahon, reportedly said in early June that the number of pro-Pita senators had risen to about 40, according to the Bangkok Post.
The two chambers of parliament will meet within July 4, or 15 days after the Elections Commission has ratified the election results on Monday.
Another joint meeting will then be called by the Speaker of the House to select the new prime minister.
Move Forward and Pheu Thai, the largest parties in the coalition, have yet to agree on the speaker’s post, according to Pheu Thai’s deputy secretary-general Phaophum Rojanasakul.
The two groups could settle the dispute before the next meeting of coalition leaders, he said.
The meeting, originally scheduled for Thursday, is being postponed for now as Mr Pita has contracted Covid-19, Move Forward said in a statement.
Although Mr Pita was formally confirmed as a legislator on Monday, he still faces an investigation by the electoral body and possible new complaints that could lead to his disqualification over his alleged ownership of media stocks.
But Pita has said the saga, which has gripped the nation for weeks, will not stand in the way of his bid for the premiership. BLOOMBERG
