The political stalemate continues in Thailand after the Constitutional Court decided on Thursday to postpone the examination of a complaint by the winner of the last elections concerning the candidacy for the post of prime minister.
Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of the reformist party Move Forward (MFP) who won the May 14 election, was blocked from power last month following parliament’s refusal to revote on his behalf after rejecting his candidacy a first time.
The Court was seized by the kingdom’s mediator on the constitutionality of this refusal and was to say on Thursday whether it accepted to examine this complaint, but it postponed its decision until August 16, making it impossible to vote in parliament on Friday on the candidacy. of a new personality.
“The request requires a thorough examination because it touches on the administrative principle in the system of constitutional monarchy (…) the Court has therefore decided to postpone its deliberation in order to gather more information”, she explained in a statement.
“The vote for prime minister tomorrow (Friday) is postponed – we will have to wait for the decision of the Constitutional Court on August 16,” Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, speaker of the lower house of parliament, told reporters.
After Mr. Pita’s withdrawal, the pro-democracy coalition that supported him broke up and Pheu Thai, the MFP’s main ally and came second in the elections, is trying to build a new majority around its candidate, the man of Srettha Thavisin cases.
To become Prime Minister, a candidate must be approved by a majority of both chambers, the 500 elected deputies and the 250 senators appointed by the former junta.
A political heavyweight headed behind the scenes by the Shinawatra family, which includes two former prime ministers ousted by coups, Pheu Thai was due to present its new coalition on Thursday, but this announcement has also been postponed indefinitely.
Without the MFP’s 151 seats, Pheu Thai is in talks with other parties to build a parliamentary majority, including some members of the incumbent majority from the 2014 military coup.
The news angered some MFP supporters and even some Pheu Thai supporters.
Move Forward surprisingly won the May 14 election thanks to the massive support of young people eager for profound change in the kingdom, which has been ruled by the army for almost a decade.
But Pita Limjaroenrat’s candidacy for prime minister was swept aside by senators, hand-picked by the former junta, because of his determination to reform the very strict royal defamation law.
03/08/2023 09:58:53 – Bangkok (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
