A possible solution to the government crisis in Thailand is emerging. Election winner Pita now wants to support a candidate from the alliance partner after his failed election as prime minister.
The party of the election winner in Thailand is not giving up. With their lead candidate Pita Limjaroenrat barred from running for prime minister again in parliament, his Move Forward Party (MFP) now wants to rally behind Pheu Thai (PT). With this, the MFP is currently forming a party alliance.
MFP Secretary-General Chaitawat Tulathon said the MFP would support the PT candidate at the next meeting of Parliament. The priority of the MFP is not that its candidate Pita becomes head of government, but that Thailand, which has been dominated by the military for the past decade, can “become a democratic country”.
Senate refused Pita’s approval
The two houses of the Thai parliament had refused the reform-oriented Pita a renewed candidacy on Wednesday. His opponents argued that Pita failed at the first attempt to elect a head of government. In a first vote the week before, the previous opposition leader had received the necessary majority in the House of Representatives thanks to his eight-party coalition. The head of government in Thailand is not only elected by the 500 elected MPs, but also by 250 senators appointed by the military.
The army passed this constitutional clause after its coup in 2014. The senators are considered conservative, only a few support progressive forces. Only 13 of them voted for Pita last week. Since the votes of both chambers are counted in the election of the head of government, Pita was missing 51 votes.
Pita had already made it clear after the first vote that his party would leave it up to the PT to nominate a candidate for the post at the head of the government in the event of another defeat.
Pita wants to limit the generals’ power
For almost a decade since the coup nine years ago, the military in Thailand has provided or supported the government. In May, the then opposition leader Pita clearly won the elections with his MFP. Among other things, the 42-year-old wants to break up economic monopolies, abolish conscription and push generals out of politics. Particularly controversial is his party’s announcement that it would reform Article 112 of the Criminal Code, which punishes insults to the monarchy with up to 15 years in prison.
The PT finished second in the parliamentary elections and then joined the eight-party alliance forged by the MFP. The PT had named three possible candidates for the post of head of government. The real estate magnate Srettha Thavisin in particular seems to have a good chance of being successful in the next parliamentary vote, which is expected next Thursday.