Election letdown: MFP leader falls short of prime ministerial votes in Thai race

Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP) and the top vote-getter in the General Election 2023, fell short of securing enough votes from the members of Parliament and senators to become the Thai Prime Minister. Despite obtaining 323 votes, Pita failed to reach the required threshold of 375 votes.

The newly elected President of Parliament, Wan Muhamad Nor Matha (Wan Nor), delivered the opening speech at around 9.55am as the Parliamentary session convened to choose the new prime minister today.

Wan Nor outlined the agenda for the meeting, which included allocating four hours for MPs to engage in debates, two hours for senators to express their opinions and the commencement of the voting process for the prime minister at around 5pm.

However, before the voting could begin, a senator named Renu Tungwarngkun tendered her resignation,…