Global Courant
BANGKOK – Thailand’s newly elected parliament will meet in the first week of July to kick off the process of new government formation, followed by the vote to elect a prime minister.
The Royal Gazette has published a decree that Parliament will meet on July 3. King Maha Vajiralongkorn will preside over the opening ceremony, the Secretariat of the House of Representatives said.
A day later, the members of Parliament vote for the election of the President of the House and two deputies.
Elections for the 500-member House were held on May 14 and the result — in which pro-democracy parties won enough seats to end nearly a decade of military-backed rule — was confirmed by the poll panel on Monday.
Under Thai rules, parliament must convene within 15 days of the results being certified to swear in the new lawmakers and elect the Speaker of the House. A joint meeting of the House of Representatives and the Senate will follow to elect the Prime Minister.
Move Forward, the group that forged an eight-party coalition to form the next government under its leader Pita Limjaroenrat, was confirmed as the winner of most seats with 151, followed by Pheu Thai with 141 seats.
In addition to the ongoing hurdle over Mr Pita’s alleged holdings of media stocks that could quell his ambition as prime minister, a panel from the military-appointed senate is now examining issues related to his assets and debt declaration.
This investigation is another challenge to Mr. Pita’s qualification and may convince more senators not to vote for him as prime minister.
Senator Seree Suwanpanont, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Political Development and Public Participation, said the committee had launched an additional investigation into Mr Pita’s qualification and eligibility to run in the general election, the Bangkok Post reported.
Move Forward’s general secretary, Chaithawat Tulahon, reportedly said earlier in June that the number of Pita senators had risen to about 40, according to the Bangkok Post.
Although Pita’s coalition has the support of some 312 lawmakers, it still lacks the 376 votes — more than half of the 750 seats in parliament — needed to secure his victory. BLOOMBERG
