Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Pathom Sangwongwanich
Mon, July 24, 2023
(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s wait for a new prime minister after the May general election may get longer as the nation’s ombudsman plans to challenge a parliament move to deny renomination of pro-democracy leader Pita Limjaroenrat.
The Office of the Ombudsman plans to petition the constitutional court to delay a fresh vote to select a prime minister until it rules on the legality of the parliament’s decision against Pita, Secretary-General Keirov Kritteranon told a briefing on Monday. The move follows a clutch of petitions from lawmakers and legal experts seeking the ombudsman’s help in approaching the court, he said.
A majority of Thai lawmakers voted against Pita’s bid to be nominated as the prime ministerial candidate for a second time after he lost a vote a week earlier. The leader of Move Forward Party lost his first premier vote after pro-royalist parties and members of the conservative Senate voted against him, citing their opposition to his party’s pledge to amend the royal insult law which which penalizes criticisms against the monarchs.
The parliament decision, slammed by Pita’s camp as unconstitutional, forced Move Forward to make way for its alliance partner Pheu Thai to take the lead in government formation. But the ally, linked to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, is under pressure to snap ties with Pita’s party in exchange for support from the Senate and the conservative parties.
The delay in government formation has weighed on Thailand’s stocks with foreign investors pulling out more than $3.3 billion this year. The political gridlock is a key reason for souring business outlook over the next three months, the Federation of Thai Industries said on Monday.
Senator Kittisak Rattanawaraha said on Monday that members of the upper house may support Pheu Thai’s efforts to form the government, provided it doesn’t involve Move Forward.
The pro-democracy alliance is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, and the ombudsman’s move to seek a charter ruling may prevent an immediate implosion of the coalition.
While parliament has scheduled the next prime minister vote on July 27, Pheu Thai has yet to announce who it would pick as its nominee from prime minister from among its three candidates that include property tycoon Srettha Thavisin and Thaksin’s youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Leaders of conservative parties — Bhumjaithai, Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation — told Pheu Thai executives at the weekend that they will not support its candidate as long as Pita’s party remains part of the alliance.
“Conservatives seem to have designed several plans to create bad outcomes for society if Pheu Thai still remains with Move Forward,” said Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee, political science professor at Chulalongkorn University. “The bottom line is to cut off Move Forward, not just Pita.”
Bloomberg Businessweek
Protesters in the Thai capital calls on senators to approve vote winners' choice for prime minister
Supporters of the Move Forward Party gather during a protest in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, July 23, 2023. The demonstrators are protesting that Thailand's Constitution is undemocratic, because it allowed Parliament to block the winner of May's general election, the Move Forward Party, from naming its leader named the new prime minister, even though he had assembled an eight-part coalition that had won a clear majority of seats in the House of Representatives.
Supporters of the Move Forward Party gather during a protest in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, July 23, 2023. The demonstrators are protesting that Thailand's Constitution is undemocratic, because it allowed Parliament to block the winner of May's general election, the Move Forward Party, from naming its leader named the new prime minister, even though he had assembled an eight-part coalition that had won a clear majority of seats in the House of Representatives.
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
Sun, July 23, 2023
BANGKOK (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered Sunday in the Thai capital of Bangkok to demand that conservative senators stop blocking the naming of a prime minister belonging to a winning coalition formed from May’s general election, a stance that risks a potentially destabilizing political deadlock.
Protesters braved heavy rain to show their anger and frustration toward the members of the Senate, who were appointed by the military and pride themselves as defenders of traditional royalist values, which they believe are under threat.
The surprise election winner, the Move Forward Party, failed in two efforts to have its leader Pita Limjaroenrat confirmed as the next prime minister, largely because he failed to woo enough votes from the senators, who are disturbed by the party’s reformist policy platform.
As many as 1,000 demonstrators took to Bangkok’s busy Asok intersection with umbrellas and raincoats. many shouting “Senators, get out!” Speakers at the peaceful rally also called for political parties in a coalition assembled by Move Forward not to “switch sides” by joining hands with other parties that supported the outgoing government of Prayuth Chan-ocha, who as army commander seized power in a 2014 coup and was returned as prime minister after the 2019 election.
Sombat Boonngam-anong, a veteran social activist who organized the rally, told the crowd that senators only have the right to vote yes, and described voting no as unconstitutional.
“You can only vote yes, because the people already said yes to the results. You don’t have the right to vote anything else,” he declared of the senators' responsibilities.
The Move Forward Party finished first in May’s general election and formed an eight-party coalition, which together won majority of 312 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives. But under the military-enacted constitution, a new prime minister must receive the support of a combined majority of both the lower house and the unelected 250-seat Senate.
Pita was rejected in a first vote and was knocked out of contention last when a procedural vote decided he could not be nominated a second time.
On Friday, the coalition held a meeting and announced that its second biggest member, the Pheu Thai Party, would nominate its candidate and assume the leading role in forming a government. Its three possible nominees are real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin; Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a 2006 military coup; and Chaikasem Nitsiri, the party’s chief strategist.
While declaring that the coalition for now will stick with its original members and try to win more votes from conservative lawmakers before the next vote scheduled for Thursday, Pheu Thai did not rule out the possibility that Move Forward could be excluded from the coalition altogether in order for it to succeed in forming the government.
On Saturday and Sunday, Pheu Thai met with several parties that voted Prayuth in as prime minister in 2019.
The parties that met with Pheu Thai over the weekend, including the military-backed Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation parties, while denying they discussed joining the coalition. also made it clear they would not be willing to do so as long as Move Forward remains in the bloc.
Some of Move Forward's supporters want the coalition to stand fast instead of inviting new members from the other side of the political spectrum, and feel their Pheu Thai colleagues are putting the pursuit for power ahead of principle.
Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties closely affiliated with populist billionaire Thaksin, who is in exile to avoid a prison sentence for abuse of power that he contends was politically inspired. Supporters of parties backed by Thaksin staged several mass protests against the conservative establishment that ousted him, spurring violent crackdowns, especially in 2010, when at least 94 people were killed.
Move Forward’s victory was powered by a widespread desire, particularly among young people, for deep structural change in Thailand after nine years of military-backed rule. The party also wants to reduce the influence of the military, which has staged more than a dozen coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, and of big business monopolies.
JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
Sun, July 23, 2023
BANGKOK (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered Sunday in the Thai capital of Bangkok to demand that conservative senators stop blocking the naming of a prime minister belonging to a winning coalition formed from May’s general election, a stance that risks a potentially destabilizing political deadlock.
Protesters braved heavy rain to show their anger and frustration toward the members of the Senate, who were appointed by the military and pride themselves as defenders of traditional royalist values, which they believe are under threat.
The surprise election winner, the Move Forward Party, failed in two efforts to have its leader Pita Limjaroenrat confirmed as the next prime minister, largely because he failed to woo enough votes from the senators, who are disturbed by the party’s reformist policy platform.
As many as 1,000 demonstrators took to Bangkok’s busy Asok intersection with umbrellas and raincoats. many shouting “Senators, get out!” Speakers at the peaceful rally also called for political parties in a coalition assembled by Move Forward not to “switch sides” by joining hands with other parties that supported the outgoing government of Prayuth Chan-ocha, who as army commander seized power in a 2014 coup and was returned as prime minister after the 2019 election.
Sombat Boonngam-anong, a veteran social activist who organized the rally, told the crowd that senators only have the right to vote yes, and described voting no as unconstitutional.
“You can only vote yes, because the people already said yes to the results. You don’t have the right to vote anything else,” he declared of the senators' responsibilities.
The Move Forward Party finished first in May’s general election and formed an eight-party coalition, which together won majority of 312 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives. But under the military-enacted constitution, a new prime minister must receive the support of a combined majority of both the lower house and the unelected 250-seat Senate.
Pita was rejected in a first vote and was knocked out of contention last when a procedural vote decided he could not be nominated a second time.
On Friday, the coalition held a meeting and announced that its second biggest member, the Pheu Thai Party, would nominate its candidate and assume the leading role in forming a government. Its three possible nominees are real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin; Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a 2006 military coup; and Chaikasem Nitsiri, the party’s chief strategist.
While declaring that the coalition for now will stick with its original members and try to win more votes from conservative lawmakers before the next vote scheduled for Thursday, Pheu Thai did not rule out the possibility that Move Forward could be excluded from the coalition altogether in order for it to succeed in forming the government.
On Saturday and Sunday, Pheu Thai met with several parties that voted Prayuth in as prime minister in 2019.
The parties that met with Pheu Thai over the weekend, including the military-backed Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation parties, while denying they discussed joining the coalition. also made it clear they would not be willing to do so as long as Move Forward remains in the bloc.
Some of Move Forward's supporters want the coalition to stand fast instead of inviting new members from the other side of the political spectrum, and feel their Pheu Thai colleagues are putting the pursuit for power ahead of principle.
Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of parties closely affiliated with populist billionaire Thaksin, who is in exile to avoid a prison sentence for abuse of power that he contends was politically inspired. Supporters of parties backed by Thaksin staged several mass protests against the conservative establishment that ousted him, spurring violent crackdowns, especially in 2010, when at least 94 people were killed.
Move Forward’s victory was powered by a widespread desire, particularly among young people, for deep structural change in Thailand after nine years of military-backed rule. The party also wants to reduce the influence of the military, which has staged more than a dozen coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, and of big business monopolies.
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