The Constitutional Court will decide next Thursday whether to accept a petition for the re-submission of Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s name for the role of PM. The Ombudsman has asked the court to rule on whether or not the rejection of Pita’s re-nomination is in violation of the constitution.
In the interim, everything’s pretty much on hold. A second PM vote scheduled for today, in which Move Forward’s coalition partner, the Pheu Thai Party, would have nominated their candidate, has been postponed.
The Pheu Thai Party, who won the second highest number of primary votes in the May 14 election, have pretty much taken the lead in forming the next government, even at the cost of dumping their current ‘coalition’ partners, Move Forward.
The blocking of Pita’s PM bid by parliamentarians has led to several complaints from both MPs and the public, who claim the move violates the constitution. Move Forward won the most seats in the May 14 general election but the machinations of the Thai political system and the party’s dogged determination to make good on one campaign pledge in particular, has seen Pita stymied in his bid for the top job.
For the conservative hand-picked senators, Pita is considered “too hot to handle”.
Meanwhile, parliament president Wan Muhamad Noor Matha says the decision to postpone the PM vote scheduled for today has nothing to do with Pheu Thai trying to build support for one of its candidates. Wan says the selection of Thailand’s 30th PM needs to wait until the Constitutional Court has made its decision.
According to Wan, if the court rejects the petition to rule on Pita’s rejection, he will call a new joint session for the PM vote to take place.
“It is speculated the court may decide whether to pass a ruling on the petition on August 9. If the court throws out the petition, I can schedule a meeting (to elect a prime minister) immediately. But parliament must be informed 3 days in advance.”
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
