Thailand government coalition holds talk after Parliament rejected nomination of Pita as new PM

The main parties of Thailand’s government coalition, Move Forward Party and Pheu Thai Party have held a new discussion on the next steps to take after the Parliament’s voting majority resulted in rejection over the nomination of Pita Limjaroenrat as the new prime minister.

The first voting of the new Thailand’s prime minister took place on Thursday, 13 July 2023.

The parliamentary debate became centered not so much around Pita Limjaroenrat but more around Thailand’s infamous Lese Majeste paragraph 112 in the junta-promoted consitution of 2017, which the junta-appointed senators did not like that Pita Limjaroenrat was going to propose when he became Prime Minister. They were helped along by the junta-appointed Election Committee which the day before the debate transferred a case of Pita holding some shares in a defunct media company to the junta-appointed Constitutional Court – which had accepted it.

Pita defended the need for amendments by explaining that very few people knew much about this paragraph before the junta-extended government weaponised it to quell criticism of their rule – thereby dragging the monarchy into the centre of Thai politics.

According to Prasert Chanruangthong, Secretary-General of the Pheu Thai Party, the second round of voting has been scheduled for next week, on 19 July 2023.

Chaitawat Tulathon, Secretary-General of Move Forward party confirmed that his party and the other seven parties in the coalition would still nominate Pita Limjaroenrat as the new prime minister at the next meeting of the House of Representatives of Thailand’s parliament.

Sources:

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