The leader of the progressive Thai political party that made waves in May’s general election failed in his initial bid to have Parliament name him the country’s new prime minister.
that outpaced its rivals to a surprise first-place finish in May’s general election failed Thursday in his initial bid to have Parliament name him the country’s new prime minister.
But strong opposition in the Senate, whose members are overwhelmingly conservative and generally opposed to the reformist platform of Pita’s party, seemingly doomed his chances in the first vote. Only 13 senators supported Pita’s bid, while 34 voted against him and 159 abstained.Pita told reporters afterwards that he “accepted” the vote but was not giving up. He said the result was below expectations and thanked the senators who voted for him.
The inconclusive finish to Thursday’s voting sets the stage for another ballot, which is expected next week. Whether Pita will make a second effort, or step aside to let a nominee from another party in his coalition try their luck, was not immediately known. Should Pheu Thai fail to successfully push through a prime minister candidate, the coalition would have to consider taking on new members.On Wednesday, the state Election Commission said it concluded there was evidence that he had violated election law, and referred his case to the Constitutional Court for a ruling. If the court accepts the case and finds him guilty, he could lose his House seat, get kicked out of politics and face a prison sentence.
“The Senate are not with the people. The election did not mean anything to them,” complained Nattapon Jangwangkaew, 42.
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