Vacancy will come up if Move Forward Party is dissolved next week
PUBLISHED : 31 Jul 2024 at 20:58
The Bhumjaithai Party is reported to be eyeing the position of first deputy House speaker if the Move Forward Party is dissolved next week.
The post is currently held by Fair Party MP Padipat Suntiphada, who was a Move Forward MP for Phitsanulok province when he was nominated and chosen for the role.
The party serving as the main opposition party is barred by law from having one of its members occupy a speaker or deputy speaker post. Mr Padipat arranged to have himself expelled from Move Forward so that he could keep his deputy speaker role and the party could lead the opposition.
If Move Forward is dissolved by the Constitutional Court on Aug 7, Mr Padipat, as a former party executive, will be banned from politics. He will lose his MP status and the deputy speaker position.
The Election Commission brought the complaint to the court, in which Move Forward is accused of having violated Section 92 of the organic law on political parties.
The poll agency cited the court’s earlier ruling on Jan 31 that the party’s efforts to change Section 112 of the Criminal Code, the lese-majeste law, reflected an intention to undermine the constitutional monarchy.
The EC also asked the court to ban the party’s executives from standing in future elections and prohibit them from registering or serving as executives of a new party for 10 years.
Bhumjaithai, the second largest coalition party, is widely speculated to be seeking the deputy House speaker’s post if becomes vacant.
Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday that filling the post should abide by the regulations and political etiquette.
He pointed out that the roles of the House speaker and the first deputy had been agreed on last year before a government was formed, which was considered an unusual practice.
He was referring to an agreement between Move Forward and the Pheu Thai Party when they decided to form a government together after the general election. Move Forward proceeded to successfully secure the deputy speaker position for Mr Padipat even though it failed to form a coalition government with Pheu Thai, which went ahead with other parties instead.
House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, a former Prachachat Party leader, was nominated for his current role to end an impasse between Pheu Thai and Move Forward, which was given the role of first deputy speaker.
“Now things are back to normal, Bhumjaithai will have to [vie for the post] in the event [Move Forward is disbanded]. But I’d like to give moral support to Mr Padipat and wish things turn out fine for all,” Mr Anutin said.
He declined to comment on speculation that Bhumjaithai MP Paradorn Prissanananthakul would be nominated for the role.