Bangkok After a day full of surprising turns in parliament, Thailand’s election winner Pita Limjaroenrat has no chance of becoming the next prime minister. Actually, the 42-year-old should have faced a second vote in both chambers on Wednesday after failing in the first round last week. But the vote never took place after several senators lodged complaints against his candidacy and Pita was shortly afterwards suspended as a member of parliament by the constitutional court.
Loud protests in front of the parliament building were not long in coming. Police officers in riot gear were called off to try and control the crowd. More and more demonstrators later moved to the Democracy Monument in Bangkok – a symbolic place famous for mass protests for many years. Angry Thais spoke of “political sabotage”.
Because many of the 52 million eligible voters are wondering why they went to the polls in the first place. Thailand likes to present itself as a democracy. But when it comes to shaking up the political establishment, younger hopefuls stand little chance.
Since his election victory, so many obstacles have been put in the way of Harvard graduate Pita that in the end he could only stumble. “It is clear that in the current system, gaining the trust of the people is not enough to govern this country,” he wrote resignedly on Instagram on Wednesday.
Why is? Pita’s progressive Move Forward Party won the most votes in May’s general election and has 151 seats in the 500-seat House of Representatives. The military, which has been in power since a military coup in 2014, suffered a severe defeat. Pita subsequently managed to form an eight-party coalition, giving him a stable majority in the Chamber of Deputies. However, he will not become prime minister.
Military prevented Pitas’ appointment
The reason is a clause in the constitution that the military passed in its own favor after the coup: since then, 500 elected MPs and 250 senators appointed by the army have voted on the prime minister. These are considered conservative. Very few support progressive forces.
On Wednesday, several senators called for Pita to be denied a second vote entirely, even though his coalition had again nominated him as the top candidate. They argued that a candidate can stand for election in parliament only once, but political experts say there is no basis for that. Nevertheless, they got their request through in a vote. In plain language: This is the “end” for pita.
The sticking point was his Move Forward Party’s plan to change the controversial Lèse Majesté law. Thailand punishes lèse majesté more severely than almost any other country. There have been protests among the population for some time. So far, however, Article 112 has been considered untouchable. Political observers say the reform plans, which Pita was determined to stick to, made his candidacy hopeless from the start.
Supporters of the Move Forward Party protest in front of the parliament in Bangkok.
(Photo: AP)
The constitutional court in Bangkok also temporarily suspended Pita as a member of parliament. The court thus granted an application by the electoral commission, according to a statement.
>>Read here: Court suspends parliamentary mandate of Thailand’s election winner
The decision was announced while Parliament was debating the controversial second vote. Pita then left the parliament building to the applause of his party colleagues.
During the second vote, many people gathered to protest in front of Parliament.
(Photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire)
The background is investigations into alleged shares in a media company that the 42-year-old is said to have owned during his candidacy. This is forbidden in Thailand. Pita emphasized that he only managed the shares from his father’s estate. In addition, the company in question has long been closed. He now has two weeks to defend himself against the allegations.
The turmoil does not come as a complete surprise: there has been talk of a fateful choice in the popular holiday destination for months – with many possible scenarios. Thailand is no stranger to protests and chaos. Neither have there been military coups: there have been more than a dozen since the 1930s.
A third vote was scheduled for Thursday if the second failed to produce a head of government. On Wednesday evening, however, the situation was completely unclear. It is possible that Pita’s most important coalition partner, the Pheu Thai party, will nominate a candidate.
She was the second strongest force in the parliamentary elections. However, new talks are necessary, because the coalition merry-go-round may turn again. And so Thailand continues to wait for its next head of government.
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