The upcoming week will witness Thai lawmakers casting their votes to elect a new prime minister, as announced by the house speaker on Wednesday. This decision comes after the country’s Constitutional Court dismissed a plea from the election-winning Move Forward party, which sought to challenge the parliament’s rejection of their prime ministerial candidate.
The court’s decision was based on a technicality, stating that the candidate in question, Pita Limjareonrat, who faced rejection from parliament twice, was not one of the complainants brought forward by the party’s allies.
For months, Thailand has been governed by a caretaker administration, and the parliament has faced a protracted stalemate over the selection of the next government. This deadlock emerged following stiff resistance from conservative lawmakers aligned with the royalist military, opposing the anti-establishment Move Forward party’s bid.
Surprisingly emerging as the winner of the May election, Move Forward rode on the waves of robust support from the youth and urban populations. Their liberal policy platform targeted influential interest groups, such as major business monopolies and the military.
The court’s dismissal of Move Forward’s plea adds to a series of setbacks for the party. Pita asserted that the party would continue its efforts to secure governance, stating, “The problem is at parliament, so we will fix it in parliament.”
The Pheu Thai party, which closely trailed Move Forward in the election, withdrew its support for the latter after Pita’s renomination was declined.
The billionaire Shinawatra family-backed Pheu Thai party is now actively seeking backing from conservative lawmakers with military ties for its candidate, real estate mogul Srettha Thavisin. However, it remains uncertain whether the politically inexperienced Srettha can garner enough support from the elected lower house and the military-appointed Senate to ascend to the position of prime minister and establish a government.
Srettha requires approval from half of the combined houses, a challenging feat considering Pheu Thai’s tumultuous history with the military and conservative establishment. These forces have repeatedly intervened to unseat Pheu Thai-led governments during the nation’s 17 years of intermittent political upheaval.
Despite Move Forward being the largest party in parliament, senior officials from Pheu Thai express confidence that Srettha will prevail even without their support.
