Election winner, Pita Limjaroenrat, blocked to become Thai Prime Minister

In a marathon seven-hour session of Parliament yesterday, the majority of members arrived at a consensus that Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP) and the winner of the General Election, would not meet the eligibility criteria to assume the position of Thai Prime Minister (PM). Furthermore, he will not be considered a candidate for the second round of voting for the PM post.

During the first Parliament meeting to vote for a new PM on July 13, Pita failed to secure enough votes to become the PM. Out of at least 375 votes, Pita and MFP managed to garner 324 votes, with support coming from 13 senators and 311 Members of Parliament from the eight parties on the MOU coalition government agreement.

The eight parties under the MOU agreement, MFP, Pheu Thai, Thai Sang Thai, Prachachart, Seree Ruam Thai, Fair, Plung Sungkom Mai, and Pheu Thai Ruamphalang, had a meeting to prepare for the second Parliament meeting to vote on the new PM yesterday, July 19.

Following the discussion, the parties agreed to propose Pita once again as the PM candidate. However, this decision sparked controversy among the political parties, with some politicians arguing that Pita could not be proposed for a second time due to the Regulations of the Parliamentary Assembly (2020). On the other hand, the coalition government parties maintained that their decision was in accordance with the law.

During the Parliament meeting yesterday, the Deputy Leader of the Pheu Thai Party, Suthin Klansaeng, proposed Pita to be the PM of Thailand for the second time. Pita was the sole candidate in the meeting.

This led Parliament President Wan Muhamad Nor Matha (Wan Nor) to ask the assembly to discuss whether Pita could be a candidate again, considering his failure in the previous vote.

During the debate session, 12 senators and MPs expressed their opinions on the matter. Those who disagreed argued that Pita could not be proposed as a candidate again due to article number 41 of the Regulations of the Parliamentary Assembly in 2020.

According to this 41st article, a motion that has been rejected cannot be reintroduced unless the Parliament President permits it.

MPs from MFP and other coalition government parties held the opposing view, contending that there were no specific laws or rules restricting the number of proposals for a candidate.

During the meeting, the Constitution Court launched an official document to suspend Pita from his MP duty during the investigation of his shares in the media company. So, Pita had to exit the meeting. He left a statement before leaving stating…

“The Constitutional Court temporarily suspend my duties. Therefore, I would like to take the opportunity to say goodbye to the Parliament president until we meet again. I would like to ask fellow members of the National Assembly to take care of the people. I think Thailand has changed. It is completely different since May 14. People have won halfway. In another half, I did not perform my duties as an MP, so I asked my fellow members to continue to take care of the people.”

Finally, the Parliament president allowed each MP and senator to vote on whether Pita could be a candidate for the second round of elections. The outcome was decisive. Of 716 votes, 395 members stated that Pita could not be reintroduced as a candidate, while 312 members supported the proposal. Eight members abstained and one member did not vote.

Only eight of the 13 senators who supported Pita in the initial election continued to back him.

The leader of the Seree Ruam Thai Party, Sereepisuth Temeeyaves, revealed to the media that he did not vote during the meeting. He shared that he did vote because the senators and the opposite side won.

Sereepisuth added that the other members of the coalition government parties should have done what he had done as this might have given Pita another chance to be proposed as a candidate. Sereepisuth also suggested that Pita and MFP relied on their fans too much.

After the meeting yesterday, Parliament President Wan Nor announced that the next meeting to vote for PM will happen from 9am on July 27. He emphasised that Pita could not be proposed as a candidate again this time.