“I’m keeping my spirits up. The progressive deputy Pita Limjaroenrat, candidate to become the next Prime Minister of Thailand, winner of the legislative elections in May, is targeted by suspicions of irregularities and risks suspension from the National Assembly. Despite this complicated situation, the chosen one remains positive and committed. However, the announcement of a possible suspension, recommended by the electoral commission, plunges the kingdom into uncertainty, on the eve of the vote expected by the deputies and senators gathered to designate the next head of government, a function that only Pita run for the time being.
The voters in May inflicted a stinging defeat on the conservative camp, but the demanded alternation risks hitting the wall of a Constitution favorable to the interests of the army which drafted it, at the risk of generating new demonstrations.
The president of the authority Ittiporn Boonprakong, questioned by AFP, confirmed that he recommended the suspension of Pita, face of the political revival in Thailand. The 42-year-old parliamentarian, who risks prison, the loss of his seat and ineligibility for 20 years, defends himself from any illegal maneuver.
The kingdom is hoping for a new prime minister, after a near-decade of military domination that has seen basic freedoms shrink and economic growth stagnate.
The Move Forward party came as a surprise with a disruptive platform that echoes the demands of the 2020 giant protests for more democracy.
Despite the rallying of other pro-democracy opposition parties, including the powerful Pheu Thai associated with the former Prime Minister in exile Thaksin Shinawatra, which offers him an absolute majority in the National Assembly, Pita Limjaroenrat remains blocked on the steps power.
His supporters see in the decision of the electoral commission, a new obstacle erected by conservative pro-army circles who disapprove of his program considered too radical.
It is an “abuse of power”, denounced Move Forward in a press release, which ensures that the electoral commission did not give Pita “the opportunity to explain”.
“Why so much rush? I see only one reason, it is to influence the result of Thursday’s vote, explained to AFP Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, professor of public law at Thammasat University in Bangkok.
“Senators need a reason not to vote for the candidate from the winning party, which has more than half the seats. They needed a reason to justify their action and here it is,” he said.
Despite a majority coalition in the Lower House (312 deputies out of 500), Pita Limjaroenrat needs the support of around sixty of the 250 senators to gain power. However, part of the Upper House, whose members were appointed by the military, refuses to do so.
His controversial plan to reform the harsh lèse-majesté law has drawn a red line with senators, self-proclaimed guardians of traditional values.
“The July 13 vote is not about Pita or Move Forward, but it’s a vote to make sure Thailand gets on the normal path of democracy,” Pita Limjaroenrat said Tuesday. advocating for a government born of the will of the people.
In the event of failure on Thursday, deputies and senators will meet as many times as necessary until the appointment of a Prime Minister, with the possibility that consensus will be reached around another candidate. The Constitutional Court must now indicate whether it agrees to take up the case.
The powerful body is involved in several of the cyclical crises that characterize Thai political life, between interference by the army and justice in the democratic process, and massive, sometimes violent demonstrations. Thailand has seen a dozen successful coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932.
The dissolution decided in 2020 by the Constitutional Court of Future Forward, the opposition party from which Move Forward took over, pushed thousands of young people into the streets in favor of an in-depth reform of the monarchy.
Move Forward’s program includes a new Constitution, the end of compulsory military service for men, the opening of certain markets and the legalization of marriage for all.