Thai parliament convenes to elect prime minister

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Thailand’s parliament convened on Thursday to elect the Southeast Asian nation’s 30th prime minister.

Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP), is the frontrunner for the country’s chief executive post.

He is the sole contender for the post after he was nominated by Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew during a joint sitting of the bicameral parliament. Some 302 lawmakers backed the nomination, according to the daily Bangkok Post.

Authorities have taken security measures around the parliament amid fears of protests.

The MFP swept to a surprise first-place finish in the general elections held in May, capturing 151 seats in the 500-member National Assembly.

It is leading an eight-party, 312-seat coalition to take over the government.

But the unlikely approval from members in the 250-seat unelected Senate, which participates in the vote for prime minister, makes Pita’s path to power a difficult one.

Pita is also facing a test from Thailand’s Constitutional Court as the nation’s election authority sought action against the frontrunner over allegations of hiding his shares in a media outlet during the elections.

His party called the election authority’s move to approach the top court “unfair.”

The election body in a statement today refuted allegations by the MFP and said it followed the law to take Pita’s case to the top court.

After the election body’s move, the MFP has called for protests.

If elected, Pita will succeed military coup plotter-turned-Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who is in power since 2014.