Pheu Thai Party primed to form a new government

The Pheu Thai Party, the third incarnation of a Thai political party, has emerged in a prime position to form a new government after Thai parliament rejected a bid by Move Forward Party (MFP), a social democratic and progressive political party, to renominate its party leader Pita Limjaroenrat for a prime ministerial vote. 

After more than seven hours of debate, the lawmakers reportedly denied Pita Limjaroenrat the chance to stand for a second parliamentary vote for prime minister.

The Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most votes in a May election. Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of MFP, lost an initial parliamentary vote to become the prime minister last week.

Last week, Thailand’s parliament rejected the bid by Pita Limjaroenrat to become prime minister. Pita Limjaroenrat failed to get the 375 parliamentary votes to be elected as the prime minister.

This week, the lawmakers denied him the chance to stand for a second vote, citing a parliamentary meeting regulation. They argued that Parliament’s rules do not permit a “repeat motion.” They further said his PM nomination was already rejected by parliament on July 13.

Consequently, the Pheu Thai Party has emerged as a front-runner in forming a government in Thailand. 

Cholnan Srikaew, a Thai physician and politician who currently serves as the leader of the Pheu Thai Party, “At this moment, Pheu Thai still joins hands with the other coalition allies. We will also discuss whether more parties will be brought in.”

During the May election, the Pheu Thai Party was in second position. The Pheu Thai Party named three candidates for the Prime Ministerial seat. 

Recently, Srettha Thavisin, one of the Pheu Thai Party’s three prime minister candidates, said that he was ready to be a Prime Minister of Thailand if he won the trust of the Pheu Thai Party.