BANGKOK: A parliamentary vote to select Thailand’s new prime minister expected on Friday (Aug 4) was delayed again after a court put off a decision in a case involving the progressive party that won May’s election, adding to growing uncertainty about when a new government can take office.
The Constitutional Court on Thursday said it needs more time to deliberate on whether to accept a petition from the state ombudsman on whether it was constitutional for parliament to bar Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, the surprise election winner, from being nominated as a prime ministerial candidate a second time.
The progressive Move Forward Party finished in first place in the May election and assembled an eight-party coalition with 312 seats in the 500-member lower house. But parliament has struggled to confirm a new prime minister, which requires a majority vote together with the conservative 250-member appointed Senate.
Pita’s initial bid last month fell short by more than 50 votes, largely because only 13 senators backed him. He was barred from a second try the following week when parliament voted that he could not submit his name again.
Many senators, who were appointed by a previous military government, said they would not vote for Pita because of his party’s call to reform a law that makes it illegal to defame Thailand’s royal family.
Critics say the law, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, has been abused as a political weapon. The Senate’s members see themselves as guardians of conservative royalist values which hold the monarchy to be sacrosanct.
Move Forward, whose agenda appealed greatly to younger voters, also seeks to reduce the influence of the military, which has staged more than a dozen coups since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, and big business monopolies.
After Pita was barred from a second bid, several complaints were submitted to the state ombudsman asserting that the action violated the constitution. The complainants include private citizens and lawmakers from Pita’s party.
When the case was filed to the court last week, parliament postponed the vote but rescheduled it days later, although the court had yet to make a decision.
