First Thai parliament meeting set for July 3

BANGKOK: Thailand’s newly elected lawmakers will meet for the first time in a parliamentary session on July 3, a royal decree published on the official royal gazette website said today.

The decree sets a motion for the formation of a new government, following the general election in May, with the vote to elect a new prime minister likely to be held in July.

The country’s election commission on Monday certified the winners of all 500 seats of the lower house which must convene within early July to elect a speaker and two deputies. The speaker will then call for a joint session of parliament between the elected lower house and the appointed senate to vote on a new prime minister.

The progressive Move Forward party pulled off a stunning victory in the May 14 ballot, closely followed by the populist Pheu Thai party, thrashing conservative rivals allied with the royalist military…