Next cabinet likely to be in place July 21
A joint sitting of the House of Representatives and the Senate is expected to convene on July 13 to select a new prime minister, according to a source at the cabinet meeting.
Citing outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, the source said on Tuesday the selection of the new House speaker is expected to take place on July 6, and the selection of a new prime minister is expected on July 13.
The appointment of the new cabinet is expected on July 21, and the swearing-in ceremony for new ministers is tipped for late July, the source said, adding that this is just a general time frame stipulated by law.
It is up to the House speaker to set specific dates.
Government Spokesman Anucha Buraphachaisri said after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that Mr Wissanu explained the work calendar for the outgoing cabinet after the Election Commission (EC) had endorsed all 500 MPs elected in the May 14 general election.
The 500 MPs-elect endorsed by the EC on Monday hail from 67 parties — 400 of whom are MPs elected in the constituency system and the other 100 in the party-list system.
Mr Anucha said the formal opening of the new parliament would take place within 15 days or on July 3, and His Majesty the King will preside over the state opening of parliament.
Under Section 121 of the constitution, the first parliamentary session must be convened within 15 days from the day the EC endorses at least 95% of all MPs-elect.
The selection of the new House speaker and two deputies will take place within 10 days from the day the new parliament convenes, Mr Anucha said.
Afterwards, a joint sitting of parliament will convene to select a new prime minister, expected in the middle of next month, the spokesman said, adding that the constitution did not stipulate when the selection of a prime minister must be completed.
“But if everything goes smoothly, we can expect to get a new prime minister in the middle of July at the very earliest, and a new cabinet will take shape,” he said.
“If there is no delay, the appointment of the cabinet is expected to be announced in the third week of July,” he added.
“The new cabinet is then expected to take the oath of office [before His Majesty the King] by the end of July. The outgoing government will step down after the new cabinet is sworn into office,” Mr Anucha said.
Mr Wissanu said on Monday that after the EC endorsed all 500 MPs on Monday, they had to report to parliament from Tuesday until Saturday.
Parliament officials will then inform the government how many MPs report in, and the government will then ask the King to preside over the state opening of the new parliament.
Mr Wissanu said the new House speaker must be selected within 10 days from the day the new parliament opens.
But in the past, the selection of the House speaker often took place on the same day as the state opening of parliament, Mr Wissanu said.
He added that the selection of the House speaker would get royal endorsement in two to three days, and the speaker would then schedule the selection of a new prime minister.
Mr Wissanu added that in the past, a candidate from a minority party was nominated and selected as a House speaker. He added that outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha would countersign the royal command appointing the new House speaker.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)