BANGKOK, May 18 — Thailand’s Move Forward Party and its alliance are confident in building a stable and balanced government after their stunning victory in Sunday’s (May 14) general election.
The alliance has 313 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, with Pita Limjaroenrat being the prime ministerial candidate.
Pita said the coalition comprises eight parties, namely Move Forward, which won 152 seats, Pheu Thai (141), Prachachat (nine), Thai Sang Thai (six), Pue Thai Rumphlang (two), the Thai Liberal Party, the Fair Party, and Plung Sungkom Mai one seat each, would carry out their duty with honesty for the people.
“The coalition is firmly taking shape. There is progress. We have a very clear roadmap from today until the day I become the prime minister.
“All parties agreed to support the leader of the Move Forward — Pita Limjaroenrat to become the 30th Prime Minister,” he said at a press conference earlier today.
Pita said the coalition is working on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will outline the collaboration and the agenda in forming the government.
The MoU will be shared with the public on May 22 which coincides with the 9th anniversary of a coup d’etat by incumbent prime minister Prayuth Chan o-cha, who seized power from Yingluck Shinawatra in 2014.
With a majority of seats in hand, the Move Forward-led coalition needs to garner support to ensure it secures enough votes during the selection of a prime minister.
The coalition needs 376 votes from the 750-member House of Representatives to successfully elect a prime minister and form a government.
The 250 senators who were appointed by Prayuth’s military government after the 2014 coup have a hand in deciding Pita’s prime ministerial candidature.
The senators have a record of siding with army-backed parties. In the 2019 general election, all 250 senators, with the exception of one – the Senate Speaker, voted in favour of Prayuth as the prime minister.
As the coalition needed another 63 votes to determine the prime minister, Pita said the number of members of parliament was sufficient but the coalition will continue to secure more votes.
Meanwhile, Pita’s coalition suffered a setback when Bhumjaithai Party, the third-place finisher on Sunday’s polls with a projected 70 seats, announced that it would not back any prime ministerial candidate who advocated policies to amend or abolish the royal defamation law, the lèse-majesté law.
Move Forward has proposed several changes to the controversial lèse-majesté law.
On the case filed with the Election Commission seeking to disqualify him over his share in a media company, Pita confidently stated, “I am not worried.”
“I accept the investigation,” he said.
— Bernama
