A coalition of pro-democracy parties that swept Thailand’s general election last month said it is close to securing enough support from the nation’s pro-establishment Senate to form a government led by Pita Limjaroenrat.
The eight-party alliance has made “satisfactory progress” in winning over enough senators to cross the threshold of 376 votes in a joint sitting of the parliament that selects the prime minister, according to Sirikanya Tansakun, a deputy leader of the Move Forward Party, which leads the group.
The Harvard-educated Pita needs the support of at least 64 more lawmakers to the coalition’s current tally of 312 members in the 500-member House of Representatives.
“We’re gaining support from more and more senators and almost hitting the target,” Sirikanya told reporters on Tuesday.
The news of rising support for Pita may help quell investor anxiety over a prolonged political impasse that’s spurred foreign funds to dump the nation’s stocks and bonds since the election. The coalition, which had previously claimed the support of 19 senators, was opposed by a majority of the senators over Move Forward’s vow to amend the country’s tough lese majeste law that penalizes insults against the monarchy.
The two chambers of parliament will meet within July 4, or 15 days after the Election Commission certified election results on Monday. Another joint sitting will subsequently be convened by the house speaker on July 13 to select the new prime minister, the Bangkok Post reported, citing an unidentified source present at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
A new cabinet is likely to be appointed on July 21 with the new ministers to be sworn in late next month, the newspaper reported.
Move Forward and Pheu Thai, the biggest parties in the coalition, have yet to reach an agreement on the speaker’s post, according to Pheu Thai’s deputy secretary-general Phaophum Rojanasakul. The two groups may settle the dispute before the next meeting of the coalition leaders, he said. The gathering, originally scheduled for Thursday, would be postponed for now as Pita had contracted Covid-19, Move Forward said in a statement.
READ: Latest Hurdle for Thai Election Winner Centers on Media Shares
Although Pita was formally confirmed as a lawmaker on Monday, he still faces a probe by the election body and potential new complaints that may lead to his disqualification over his alleged ownership of media shares. But Pita has said the saga, which has gripped the nation for weeks, will not come in the way of his prime ministerial bid.
(Updates with likely date for PM vote on sixth paragraph.)
