S112 to stay untouched on Pheu Thai’s watch
Srettha Thavisin, a Pheu Thai prime ministerial candidate who is expected to be formally nominated ahead of Friday’s vote, has given assurances that Pheu Thai will leave the lese majeste law alone after some senators expressed scepticism about his stance on the matter.
He said that a PM candidate nominated by any party that still seeks to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, known as the lese majeste law, will not receive support from the senators.
“If Pheu Thai nominates me for the next prime ministerial vote, Section 112 amendment must be left untouched. Pheu Thai has made it clear it will not amend or scrap the law.
“The party wants to form a new government and move the country forward. It is necessary to defuse tensions over Section 112.
“Today, addressing the bread-and-butter issues affecting people’s daily lives is an overriding priority. Improving the economy must come first,” Mr Srettha said.
Several senators had not been convinced by Mr Srettha’s stance and said they may not vote for him after they watched a video clip of him saying during a campaign event ahead of the May 14 election that he would support Section 112’s amendment.
However, Mr Srettha later backtracked, saying Pheu Thai would not lay a finger on Section 112 if it led the new government, one day after parliament rejected the renomination of Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat for the prime ministerial post on July 19.
Mr Srettha said on July 20 that Section 112 amendment must not be attached to the eight prospective coalition parties’ new bid to win the prime ministerial vote; otherwise, the candidate nominated by the bloc would not get the support needed from the senators and parties outside the bloc.
If Pheu Thai becomes the leader of the eight-party bloc, Section 112 amendment would be off the agenda, he said.
The MFP’s determination to amend Section 112 was regarded as a key factor in Mr Pita’s failure to gain sufficient support for his bid to be named prime minister from MPs and senators in the first vote on July 13.
Under the constitution, a PM candidate needs the support of at least half of the 750 members of both the lower and upper chambers of parliament, or 376 votes in total.
Linthiporn Warinwatchararoj, a party-list MP for Pheu Thai and acting party spokeswoman, on Tuesday said that Mr Srettha also admitted on July 20 that any move to amend Section 112 would pose a major hurdle to Pheu Thai’s bid to form a government.
According to a Pheu Thai source, the party will issue a statement ahead of Friday’s vote to reaffirm its stance that it will not support any move to amend Section 112 and had opposed the MFP’s bid to include it in the MoU in the first place.
Senator Jadet Insawang said that if Mr Srettha is nominated for the prime ministerial vote on Friday, he should be asked to outline his vision before the vote and members of parliament should also be allowed to quiz the candidate before making their decision.
Parliament president Wan Muhamad Noor Matha previously said parliament would convene on Friday, but whether the new vote for a prime minister takes place that day will depend on a Constitutional Court decision the day before.
The court will announce if it is to accept a petition regarding the rejected renomination of Mr Pita as prime minister. If accepted, the vote will not occur until the court’s ruling.