Pheu Thai struggles to exclude military as political vacuum hits 3 months

BANGKOK — Thailand remains without a new prime minister three months after the May 14 general election, with Pheu Thai — the party that finished second in the voting — struggling to exclude the military’s influence as it tries to form a new government.

The latest in the political deadlock involves a petition before Thailand’s Constitutional Court claiming that parliament’s rejection last month of the motion to renominate Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat as a prime minister candidate was unconstitutional. The progressive Move Forward won the most seats in Thailand’s lower house, but Pita failed to win a majority in parliament for the prime minister post when he was nominated in July.