PUBLISHED : 22 Aug 2023 at 12:15
The parliament on Tuesday morning resumed in joint session of the House and the Senate to vote for a prime minister, with the Pheu Thai Party’s Srettha Thavisin the only candidate put forward.
Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew nominated Mr Srettha to the parliament at 10.57am. Then Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha asked the session if there were any other candidates for prime minister. There was no reply. Mr Wan declared Mr Srettha the sole candidate.
The nomination was made in the parliament’s third joint session for a prime ministerial vote, 100 days after the May 14 general election.
In the first session on July 13 the parliament voted against Pita Limjaroenrat, leader and prime ministerial candidate of the election-winning Move Forward Party.
In the second session on July 19, the parliament rejected the renomination of Mr Pita by a majority, on the grounds a failed motion could not be resubmitted within the same parliamentary session under House regulation 41.
During the third session on Tuesday Senator Wiwat Saengsuriyachat said he had little knowledge about Mr Srettha and the Pheu Thai Party had not distributed a written profile of their candidate to members of the parliament before the prime ministerial nomination.
“I have only seen news reports about him and there were many accusations against him,” Mr Wiwat said.
Suratin Pijarn, leader of the New Democracy Party, said he did not know details about Mr Srettha and was aware only that the prime ministerial candidate “built houses for sale”. Mr Srettha is the former chief executive of property developer Sansiri Plc.
“Will we have to vote for a prime minister as if we were buying a product online?” he said.
He also asked how the Pheu Thai Party would fund its 560-billion-baht digital wallet policy, saying he doubted that the country’s present financial status could affort it.
Chaithawat Tulathon, secretary-general of the Move Forward Party, said Pheu Thai’s planned formation of a government with Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation parties would serve the interests of coup-makers and did not meet the demands of voters.
The Palang Pracharath Party is led by caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon and the United Thai Nation Party earlier had caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as its prime ministerial candidate.
Before the debate on the prime ministerial vote began, Parliament President Wan turned down MFP’s protest against the parliament’s July 19 decision to block the renomination of its leader Pita Limjaroenrat for prime minister.