2 parties team up to seek mandate from Thai parliament to run government

By Necva Tastan

ISTANBUL (AA) – Amid political logjam, two parties in Thailand Monday laid claim on government formation with support of 212 lawmakers in hand.

Pheu Thai Party, with 141 seats, and Bhumjaithai Party, with 71 seats, said they will seek parliament vote to form a coalition government.

However, they did not reveal how they would gather much-needed 376 votes to form the government, Bangkok-based Thai PBS reported.

Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew said that more parties are “likely to join their coalition” and they will seek support from other lawmakers including junta-appointed senators to “effectively govern and address people’s concerns.”

The latest development came after the Move Forward Party failed to achieve the magic number in the parliament last month. The rejection of party mostly came from senators, who were appointed by former military regimes.

Thai parliament has seen logjam in government formation since July over issues, some of which concern nation’s monarchy to which the Move Forward Party wanted to seek amendments but was rejected by senators as they blocked its bid to form a government.