Pita Limjaroenrat vowed to fight on to become Thailand’s next prime minister, even as his odds of winning appeared less certain given there was no guarantee the pro-democracy leader would be allowed to contest.
(Bloomberg) — Pita Limjaroenrat vowed to fight on to become Thailand’s next prime minister, even as his odds of winning appeared less certain given there was no guarantee the pro-democracy leader would be allowed to contest.
The speaker of Thailand’s House of Representatives said Tuesday he would decide whether Pita — who last week was denied enough Senate support to become prime minister — can seek a second chance after the parliament debates the matter Wednesday.
“I’m still confident that I can fight,” Pita said Tuesday. “No matter the results, they may reject me but they can’t reject the people who voted in the May election. Don’t let them cast their ballots in vain.”
Although the coalition led by Pita’s Move Forward Party has a comfortable majority in the lower house, he still needs the support of the military-appointed Senate to become prime minister. That backing looks elusive, given a majority of senators blocked his previous attempt less than a week ago.
It was the senators who raised questions about the validity of Pita’s candidature, citing parliamentary regulations that disallow a failed motion to be taken up again in the same session. Pita has maintained that a shot at premiership is not the same thing as a parliament motion.
The Senate as well as the conservative groups’ main opposition to Pita’s candidacy stems from his campaign pledge to reform the so-called lese majeste law that punishes anyone found defaming, insulting or threatening the king or other royals.
Amid these developments, Pita, whose party is seeking to annul the Senate’s power to vote, has said he will step down should he fail to get enough support from lawmakers and also if his party is unable get the bill to curb senators’ powers passed.
Should that happen, Pheu Thai, a key partner of the Move Forward-led coalition, will take the lead at forming a government and is likely to put forward Srettha Thavisin’s as the coalition’s new pick for prime minister.
While Pita will head into Wednesday’s parliament sitting with questions around his nomination, the Constitutional Court will almost at the same time decide whether to accept a case that seeks his disqualification as a lawmaker over breach of election rules.
Even if he does get a re-vote, Pita still needs more than half the parliamentary votes to be successful. His coalition controls 312 seats in the 500-member house, and he only needs to convince a minority of the 250-member Senate to support him to cross the half-way mark to get elected.
With one senator resigning last week and the speaker usually refraining from voting, Pita needs to touch 375 to succeed. Only 13 senators voted for him last week, with none of the conservative parties extending support.
Pita is expected to be the lone candidate once again this time, with the conservative parties, including the Palang Pracharath Party, yet to name someone to challenge him ahead of the parliament session that will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.
Pita has also left the door open for a round-three contest if he receives “significantly more” support on Wednesday, even if it falls short the winning threshold of 375 votes again.
READ: Thai PM Candidate Pita Willing to Let Ally Form Government
–With assistance from Pathom Sangwongwanich and Suttinee Yuvejwattana.
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