Under scrutiny: Pita (white shirt) waving to his supporters in Bangkok after his stunning election victory last month. The Senate is looking into issues related to Pita’s assets and debts declaration. — AP
THE newly elected parliament will meet in the first week of July, setting in motion the process of new government formation followed by the vote to elect a prime minister.
The royal gazette has published a decree for parliament to convene on July 3. Thai ruler Maha Vajiralongkorn will preside over the opening ceremony, according to the Secretariat of the House of Representatives.
A day later, members of parliament will cast votes for selection of the speaker of the house and two deputies.
Election to the 500-member house was held on May 14 and its result – where pro-democracy parties won enough seats to end almost a decade of military-backed rule – was certified by the poll panel on Monday.
Under Thai rules, the parliament must convene within 15 days from the certification of results to swear-in the new lawmakers and elect the house speaker. A joint sitting of the lower house and the Senate will follow to select the prime minister.
Move Forward, the outfit that’s forged an eight-party coalition to form the next government led by its leader Pita Limjaroenrat, was confirmed as the winner of the most number of seats at 151, followed by Pheu Thai that bagged 141 seats.
Besides the ongoing hurdle over Pita’s alleged ownership of media shares that could stifle his prime ministerial ambition, a panel of the military-appointed
Senate is now looking into issues related to his assets and debts declaration.
This scrutiny is another challenge for Pita’s qualification and may persuade more senators not to vote for him as premier.
Senator Seree Suwanpanont, as chairman of the Senate committee on political development and public participation, said that the committee had launched additional probe into Pita’s qualification and his eligibility to contest in the general election, the Bangkok Post reported.
Move Forward’s secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon reportedly said earlier that the number of pro-Pita Senators had increased to about 40. — Bloomberg
