The 250 senators chosen by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), which is no longer in existence, are permitted, according to the present constitution, to vote in Parliament with the MPs to choose the prime minister.This will be their second and probably final time taking part in the lower house’s nomination of the prime minister.
In the 2019 election, senators and members of parliament both supported General Prayut Chan-o-cha for prime minister.Five previous opposition parties and one new party make up the Move Forward Party (MFP), which presently has 310 MPs overall.
Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader and lone candidate for PM for Move Forward, will need to amass as many as 375 MPs, or half of the total Parliament (750), in order to successfully bypass the Senate and be nominated as prime minister without the backing of the 250-member body.Senator Kittisak Rattanawaraha referred to Move Forward’s initiative to modify the contentious lese majeste law by saying, “A prime minister must show loyalty to the royal institution.” This suggested that he might not vote for Pita or might choose to abstain when it comes time to choose a premier.
Indicating her reservations about the MFP’s plan to change the lese majeste statute, some other senators, like Pornthip Rojanasunan, also made it plain that they would abstain from voting. She claimed that the MFP should avoid interfering with such delicate and divisive matters.With 310 votes in hand, several observers advised the MFP to approach the Bhumjai Thai Party, which supports marijuana legalization and finished third in the election, for support. Bhumjaithai, who has about 70 MPs, could give the MFP the majority without requiring Senate consent. The party leader, Anutin Charnvirakul, stated he would wait for the official election results within sixty days before making any decisions, hence there were no conversations between the two groups as of the time of publication.
The two parties also disagree on a number of key issues, with MFP officially stating that it opposed marijuana use and wanted it reclassified as a narcotic, only being used for stringent medicinal purposes. Bhumjaithai is therefore unlikely to approve modifications to Lese Majeste.
Regardless of the outcome, the countdown to a new era has started.
Thailand will now proceed through the subsequent five steps as follows:
Election Commission must release the final, official results of the general election by July 13th.
July
The House of Representatives will choose a new speaker after the results are announced.
Parliament will select a new premier in August.
August late
The caretaker administration is replaced by a new cabinet.
Additionally, although it is typically a formality, the new PM would require official permission from His Royal Majesty the King.
