Following the completion of the vote for House Speaker and deputies today, the Thai parliament is now preparing for the crucial next step in the political process—the election of the Prime Minister. In a show of unity, the eight parties that hold the majority of seats in the lower house have announced their decision to support Move Forward party leader Pita Limjaroenrat for the position.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, representing the caretaker government, stated that the parliament will now submit the names of the nominated House Speaker and two deputy speakers to His Majesty the King for official proclamation. Once the proclamation is made, the House Speaker, officially known as the President of the National Assembly, will collaborate with the President of the Senate to determine a suitable date for a National Assembly session. During this session, members from both the upper and lower houses will cast their votes for the Prime Minister. The caretaker government will continue to govern until the day the new Prime Minister and Cabinet are sworn in.
The alliance of eight parties, led by the Move Forward party (MFP), which holds the highest number of seats in the House of Representatives, has expressed their unity in forming a government coalition with Pita Limjaroenrat as the Prime Minister.
During a press conference, Mr. Pita reaffirmed the parties’ commitment to nominating Mr. Wan Muhamad Noor Matha as House Speaker and maintaining their position to nominate him as Prime Minister, as stated in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the leaders of the eight parties.
Dr. Chonlanan Srikaew, leader of the Pheu Thai party, confirmed today that the eight parties will jointly nominate Mr. Pita for the Prime Ministerial vote and will strive to secure as many votes as possible, aiming to reach the minimum requirement of 376 votes.
Dr. Chonlanan emphasized that his party does not have a backup plan in case Mr. Pita encounters significant political obstacles. The primary focus currently is to gather enough votes to support their candidate.
