Pita Limjaroenrat, who won the May national elections, is the main contender for prime minister. The constitutional court of Thailand has suspended him from the legislature, the latest setback for his wildly popular progressive opposition party after nearly a decade of unrest under military support.
The Move Forward Party leader was provisionally suspended after the Election Commission filed a complaint against him, alleging that he had violated election regulations by reportedly owning stock in a media company.
Pita has asserted that he didn’t violate any electoral laws and has previously charged that the Election Commission hurried the case into court.
More than 70 million people live in the nation of Southeast Asia, where the Move Forward Party campaigned on a platform of fundamental structural reforms to the way it is governed, including changes to the military, the economy, the decentralization of authority, and even the monarchy, which was formerly untouchable.
The military-backed establishment that has dominated Thailand since 2014, when then-army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha overthrew the government in a coup, received a sharp rebuke in the record-breaking May poll. With the potential for large-scale street protests, the court’s ruling is likely to stoke the flames of Move Forward’s young constituency. The party won a significant majority of seats thanks to the popularity of its platform for change.
Pita was proposed as a candidate for prime minister by a coalition of opposition parties that was established in an effort to form a majority administration. Pita, a 42-year-old Harvard alumnus, referred to the alliance as “the voice of hope and the voice of change” and claimed that all parties had agreed to support him as the country’s future prime minister.
Headstart of the institution
The previous regime constructed a political structure that disproportionately benefits the royalist, conservative establishment that has long controlled the levers of power in Thailand. Pita failed to win enough parliamentary votes to become prime minister last week.
In order to elect a prime minister and create a government in Thailand, a party or coalition must gain 375 members, or a majority, in both the lower and upper houses of parliament, which total 749 MPs at present.
However, the conservative elite is ahead of the game. In accordance with a post-coup constitution, the 250-member Senate, which is not elected, was appointed by the military. It has traditionally supported pro-military politicians.
In spite of ongoing political wrangling, Pita only secured 324 of the 376 votes necessary for a majority, leaving the kingdom without a prime minister.The court’s decision now jeopardizes his ability to serve in Congress.
The military, monarchy, and influential elites of Thailand form a formidable conservative establishment that has a history of thwarting major changes to the status quo.
The political establishment has consistently benefited from decisions made by Thailand’s Constitutional Court over the past 20 years, which have led to the dissolution of various opposition groups.
Additionally, the military has a lengthy history of overthrowing democratically elected governments and assuming control in unstable situations.
Since 1932, Thailand has experienced twelve successful coups, including two in the previous 17 years.
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SOURCE: http://siamrath.co.th
