Democrat Party executives are meeting today to schedule another date on which to elect a new leader after their first attempt collapsed on Sunday.
Acting party leader Jurin Laksanawisit said the executive board is due to decide on the date to select his successor today.
The meeting will also discuss whether to waive certain party regulations to allow for a fresh selection of new executives and party leader.
Mr Jurin declined to speculate when the new meeting will take place after the attempt on Sunday was adjourned due to the lack of a quorum.
It was reported that the room was fraught with conflict between two camps vying for party leadership. One side is said to support former leader Abhisit Vejjajiva’s return, while the other, reportedly backed by acting party secretary-general Chalermchai Sri-on, manoeuvres to have younger members run the party.
It was also reported that some party executives deliberately left early on Sunday to force a lack of quorum, seeing that their side stood to lose if the party leadership contest went ahead.
Yesterday, Mr Jurin said any unsettled issues would be dealt with in the next round.
It was natural to have competition when it comes to finding a new party leader. This is because the Democrat Party is not owned by a single person who can tell the party to do as they please.
“It’s all about respecting a consensus,” he said.
Also yesterday, Naris Khamnurak, a five-time former Democrat MP and deputy interior minister, said Sunday’s selection process was cut short as several members had to catch planes home to their provinces and could not stay late.
The meeting went on longer than planned because of issues surrounding the leader and executive picks which had to be thrashed out. He denied any underhand internal politics were responsible for the adjournment.
“The party rarely faces a disagreement that results in meetings being postponed,” he said.
The former Phattthalung MP added that members who competed against one another at executive elections were still able to work together afterwards.
He downplayed the disputed party rule governing leadership and executive selection, which reportedly puts the Abhisit side at a disadvantage.
While MPs, party executives and members who are former political office-holders are eligible to take part in the selection process, they do not carry equal weight in the vote. The MPs account for 70% of the total, while the rest make up the remaining 30%. The Democrats won a total of 25 House seats in the May 14 general election.
Mr Naris maintained the rule will stand in the next meeting as it would be unprincipled to make a change at this point.