BANGKOK — Thailand’s progressive Move Forward Party on Wednesday held its first face-to-face discussions with five other parties in an attempt to form a coalition government, three days after scoring a stunning national election victory.
A new government will be formed in July when the House of Representatives and the appointed Senate select a new prime minister. Because of the joint vote, Sunday’s election victor is not assured of taking power.
Representatives of the five parties, mostly members of the opposition to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s conservative government, met for several hours Wednesday. Afterward they emerged smiling and posed for photos with hands linked in a sign of unity.
Chief among the potential partners is the Pheu Thai party, currently the biggest opposition group in the House, which had been favored to top the polls but ended up running a close second.
“It went quite smoothly,” said Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat, a 42-year-old Harvard-educated businessman. He said details of the meeting would be announced Thursday.
Sunday’s victory by the two main opposition parties, which together captured a majority of the House seats, was a major blow to the conservative establishment that has been in power since the army staged a coup in 2014.
Questions remain, however, about whether the Move Forward Party, which pledged sweeping reforms, will be able to form a government. It will need support from at least some members of the Senate to achieve the necessary 376 votes for a majority in Parliament in July. But all of the senators were appointed by the junta which Prayuth led after staging the 2014 coup and share the military’s conservative royalist bent.
Many behind-the-scenes negotiations are likely to take place before Parliament meets.
After Move Forward’s victory was confirmed, several senators said they would not vote for Pita as prime minister because they could not accept the party’s proposed amendment of the country’s lese majeste law, which mandates prison terms of three to 15 years for anyone found guilty of insulting the monarchy.
The monarchy is one of the pillars of Thai national identity and is considered sacrosanct by conservatives. Many younger Thais would like to see it liberalized as part of a range of democratic reforms.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.