Thailand: Pheu Thai Party announces support of another party ahead of Tuesday poll for premier

By Necva Tastan

ISTANBUL (AA) – Thailand's Pheu Thai Party announced on Monday the addition of the Palang Pracharath Party to the coalition, bringing the total number of coalition partners to 11.

The announcement is seen as a significant development in the country, as the parliament is set to hold a second vote for prime minister on Tuesday.

The Pheu Thai Party and its coalition are preparing to announce a 314-vote coalition from 11 parties, the Thai Enquirer reported on X, formerly known as Twitter. However, it anticipated in the same post that the party would lose key members due to its alignment with pro-junta partners.

Meanwhile, at a news conference on Monday afternoon, Pheu Thai Party leader Cholnan Srikaew announced that the Pheu Thai-led coalition, with 314 MPs will avoid addressing the lese majeste law and that the Move Forward Party will be in the opposition.

The Thai parliament has been unable to form a government formation since July due to stalemate over issues, some of which concern the nation’s monarchy to which the Move Forward Party wanted to seek amendments but was rejected by senators who blocked its bid to form a government.

Thailand's Constitutional Court last week rejected a petition seeking a ruling on the legitimacy of last month's parliamentary vote that blocked the renomination of the Move Forward Party leader as a prime ministerial candidate.

The court announced a unanimous decision on the ombudsman's petition to assess the constitutionality of parliament's refusal to reconsider Pita Limjaroenrat for the position of premier.​​​​​​​