Thai Election Winner Lets Ally Lead Government Formation

Patpicha Tanakasempipat
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(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s Move Forward Party, which won the most parliamentary seats in the May general election, will step aside to let its ally Pheu Thai Party lead efforts of a coalition of pro-democracy parties to form the next government.

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Move Forward, whose leader Pita Limjaroenrat was blocked from securing the country’s top political office twice, will stay with the coalition and nominate a candidate from Pheu Thai for the prime minister’s post, the party’s secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon told reporters on Friday. The next round of vote to elect a premier is set for July 27.

“The issue today isn’t whether Pita will be prime minister, but whether Thailand can return to democracy,” Chaithawat said. “Our highest goal is still to form a government to end military-backed rule.”

The Thai baht weakened along with most Asian currencies Friday, after strengthening the previous day on hopes that a Pheu Thai candidate will have a better chance at forming the government.

The announcement came after Pita was left with near-zero chance of leading the country after he was rejected by conservative parties and the military-appointed Senate last week and his re-nomination blocked again this week.

READ: Thai Brace for Protests, Tussle for PM Job as Pita Blocked

The eight-party coalition — which commands a comfortable majority in the lower house — still has a shot at ending nearly a decade of military-backed rule that started with a coup in 2014. Pheu Thai, the second-biggest party in the alliance, has not formally named its candidate for the next vote, but property tycoon Srettha Thavisin is seen the most likely choice.

The key challenge is to win the support of the 249-member Senate, which is stacked with allies of the pro-military royalist establishment. Many senators are opposed to Move Forward’s reformist agendas, which include amendments to the country’s lese majeste law that penalizes criticism of the monarchy.

Later on Friday, Pheu Thai said it will seek more support from lawmakers in the lower house as well as in the Senate, aiming to win the prime minister vote in one go. Wednesday’s vote to reject Pita’s re-nomination set a precedent that a candidate has only one shot at becoming prime minister.

To do this, Pheu Thai does not rule out forming new alliances with non-coalition parties in order to reach the 375 votes needed to secure the premiership. The winner needs to have more than half the votes in the combined National Assembly, whose strength is currently at 748, after one senator recently resigned and Pita was suspended this week.

“The goal is to get to 375 votes in support. Whatever is required to get that, we will need to discuss and negotiate,” the party’s leader Cholnan Srikaew told reporters ahead of a coalition meeting later on Friday.

Asked about the Senate’s opposition to Move Forward, Pheu Thai deputy leader Phumtham Wechayachai said: “As long as we’re determined to form a government, whatever factor that remains a problem must be solved by the party responsible.”

--With assistance from Pathom Sangwongwanich and Suttinee Yuvejwattana.

(Updates with Pheu Thai comments from eight paragraph.)

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