Thailand: Military prevents Pita as prime minister

2023-07-19 19:55:00

There should have been a second vote in parliament on Wednesday, but several senators had called for the 42-year-old not to be allowed to stand a second time after his defeat in the first vote last week. The Chamber of Deputies and Senate voted 394 to 312 to grant the senators’ request.

Pita, who was seen by many as a beacon of hope, clearly won the parliamentary elections in May with his progressive party Move Forward Party. With a coalition of eight parties, he has a stable majority in the Chamber of Deputies.

However, the head of government in Thailand is not only elected by the 500 elected MPs, but also by 250 senators appointed by the military. It was unclear what would happen next. It was not initially known whether an election round planned for Thursday should take place with another top candidate.