Thailand’s leader of the progressive Move Forward Party Pita Limjaroenrat failed on Thursday (Jul 13) in an initial bid to become the country’s next prime minister after he was thwarted in a high-stakes parliamentary vote.
Mr Pita, 42, was the sole candidate in the prime ministerial selection but could not garner the requisite approval of more than half of the combined assembly, which comprises 500 members of parliament and 249 senators.
Move Forward won the general election on May 14 and formed a coalition with seven allies. Together, they have 312 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.
To become the prime minister, Mr Pita had to be approved by at least 375 parliamentarians but he only managed to secure 324 votes on Thursday.
A total of 705 people cast their votes, including 182 parliamentarians who voted against Mr Pita and 199 others who abstained.
“Regarding the voting results, I have to say that we accepted it but we will not give up,” Mr Pita said after.
“We won’t give up just yet. We’ll spend time to strategise how to consolidate votes for the next round.”
His defeat was the latest blow in a torrid two days for the US-educated Pita, who saw two legal complaints against him gain momentum on the eve of the vote, including a recommendation to disqualify him, prompting hundreds of demonstrators to gather and warn of moves afoot to keep Move Forward from power.
Pita’s determination to pursue his party’s agenda has put him at odds with a powerful nexus of conservatives and old-money families that have loomed large over Thai politics for decades, and had been expected to try to thwart him in parliament.
