Pita Limjaroenrat’s party won Thailand’s elections in May by surprise, but the road for the 42-year-old former deputy to succeed General Prayuth Chan-ocha as head of government was never easy. Yesterday, on the eve of parliament’s vote to elect Thailand’s next prime minister, things got even tougher after the election commission recommended his suspension for allegedly violating campaign rules. And in another case, after the Constitutional Court agreed to a ruling on the charge that it wants to overthrow the monarchy by defending an amendment to the lese-majeste laws.
The Prime Minister’s election process revolves around 500 new deputies and 250 senators, all of whom have one vote. Candidates are nominated by parties, requiring the support of 50 congressmen. When all candidates have been named, deputies and senators vote for the person elected in alphabetical order, with 376 votes needed to be elected as the new head of government. If no one reaches that number, there will be new votes, with no limit until there is a winner.
Pita Limjaroenrat is the candidate of the party with the most votes in May’s elections, Move Forward, which won 151 seats in parliament and formed an alliance with the second most voted party, Pheu Thai, which won 141 seats. The leader of this party is Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin and niece of former head of state Yingluck, both overthrown in coups d’état. In Yingluck’s case, the person responsible was General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who became prime minister after the 2014 coup.
A candidate in May’s elections, the 69-year-old general failed to get past fifth position (only 36 deputies) and announced on Tuesday that he would be leaving politics. “As prime minister, I have worked hard to protect the nation, religion and monarchy for the benefit of the beloved people,” he said. “The results are now paying off for the people,” he defended, claiming to have tried to “strengthen the country” and overcome “many obstacles” inside and outside Thailand.
In the nine years since the coup, Prayuth has been repeatedly challenged in court, in censure motions and in street protests by those who viewed him as an opportunist without a mandate. After the coup, the staunch monarchist led the military junta until the 2019 election, changing the constitution in 2017 and appointing virtually all senators (thus ensuring his influence) and being elected to serve another term.
Precisely because of the senators, most staunch monarchists like Prayuth, the path of Pita Limjaroenrat was not easy from the beginning. Your alliance has 312 votes, so you need 64 more from other deputies or senators. But the fact that one of his goals is to reform the lese-majeste laws that protect King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his family (penalties can be up to 15 years in prison) makes it difficult to gain more support. Yesterday’s decisions by the Electoral Commission and the Constitutional Court further complicate the situation.
Despite this, the party continues with its candidacy: “Tomorrow is a crossroads day to see if we continue to ignore people’s policies or go back to normal democracy and move Thailand forward.” said General Secretary Chaithawat Tulahon. “I don’t think people are going to accept that anymore.”
Source: DN
