Blocked Thai PM challenger Pita resigns as Move Forward party leader

Pita Limjaroenrat was stopped from becoming prime minister by entrenched conservative blocs in Parliament, and was later suspended as an MP. - AFP

BANGKOK (AFP): Pita Limjaroenrat, whose reformist party won the most seats at Thailand's national elections in May, resigned as its leader on Friday.

The young challenger led the Move Forward Party (MFP) to the top spot in the polls, capitalising on a swell of voters disenchanted at a near-decade of junta-backed rule, before he was blocked by conservatives and suspended as an MP.