Image from The Nation Thailand/ANN
BANGKOK (Bernama): House of Representatives and Senate whips will meet on Wednesday (Aug 16) to set the date to vote for Thailand’s next prime minister.
Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said the sitting is expected to be held on Aug 18 or Aug 22.
He said the vote for a new prime minister will depend on the Constitutional Court’s decision on Wednesday, on whether it will accept a petition from the Office of the Ombudsman challenging the legality of the Parliament vote rejecting the renomination of Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat for prime minister on July 19.
Wan Muhamad hopes the vote for a new prime minister of the bicameral parliament will go smoothly.
Pheu Thai Party, which came second in the May 14 general election with 141 seats, has abandoned its former ally MFP and is now leading a nine-party coalition in an attempt to form a government.
The Pheu Thai-led coalition has a total of 238 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives. However, its candidate needs at least 376 votes from the joint sitting, which includes support from the 250 military-appointed Senate members, in order to be elected as prime minister.
Local media reported that Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) MPs are expected to vote for Pheu Thai's prime ministerial candidate. PPRP has a total of 40 seats.
The United Thai Nation (UTN) Party, which won 36 seats in the general elections is scheduled to meet this week to discuss how they will vote in the upcoming Parliament sitting.
Both PPRP and UTN are not part of the Pheu Thai-led coalition.
Pheu Thai is expected to nominate real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin as its choice for prime minister. - Bernama
