Thai lawmakers will vote to elect a new prime minister next week, the Speaker of the House of Representatives said on Wednesday, after a court rejected the move by the winner of the Move Forward election to challenge the election. Congress blocked their candidate.
The Constitutional Court rejected claims by the party's allies for technicality, arguing that their candidate for prime minister, Pita Limjareonrat, who was twice thwarted by parliament, was not among the causes. single.
Thailand has been under an interim government since March and parliament has been deadlocked for weeks on forming the next government after the anti-establishment Move Forward movement faced fierce opposition from politicians. Allied conservative legislation over the royalist army.
Move Forward was a surprise election winner in May, thanks to the overwhelming support of youth and cities for a liberal political platform that targets some of the country's most powerful interests. Thailand, including large business monopolies and the military.
The court's refusal is the latest in a series of blows to Move Forward. Pita said the party would not give up the fight for the right to rule.
“The problem is in parliament, so we will solve it in parliament,” said Pita.
The Pheu Thai Party, which came second in the election, withdrew its support for Forward after Pita's re-nomination was rejected.
Pheu Thai, a populist election supporter in the billionaire Shinawatra family, is lobbying actively to win support from military-backed conservative lawmakers for his candidacy. real estate mogul Srettha Thavisin.
But it is far from certain that the politically inexperienced Srettha has enough support from the elected lower house and military-appointed Senate to become prime minister and form a government. He needs the support of half of the House of Representatives, a difficult task given Pheu Thai's bitter history with the military and conservative establishment, which has repeatedly intervened to overthrow their government over the course of 17 years. political instability.
"Whether the prime minister selection can be completed on the same day will depend on the session," House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha told reporters as he announced the vote to elect the prime minister on Thursday. 8.
Senior Pheu Thai officials said they were confident Srettha would win even without the support of Move Forward, the largest party in parliament.
