The caretaker government will set up a new whip drawn from political parties in the former coalition to ensure their MPs toe the line in voting for the next prime minister on July 13.
Outgoing Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn unveiled the plan on Wednesday.
He rejected speculation the outgoing-government coalition parties were divided following voting for the first deputy speaker on Tuesday. He said there were no talks ahead of the vote because there were no party whips to enforce discipline.
Move Forward Party MP for Phitsanulok Padipat Suntiphada received 312 votes and was elected first deputy speaker of the House of Representatives on Tuesday. His challenger for the post was Witthaya Kaewparadai, a list-MP of the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) who received 105 votes.
There were 496 members in the chamber for the voting. There were 77 abstentions and two invalid ballots. The UTN and other parties expected to be in the new opposition bloc had a combined 187 votes to disitribute. Bhumjaithai Party MPs abstained from voting.
Mr Chaiwut denied that a meeting of caretaker cabinet ministers and outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at Government House on Wednesday was indicative of political manoeuvring in the wake of Tuesday’s voting in parliament.
He said Tuesday’s vote did not reflect any division among the old government coalition parties. As there was no whip, the parties had not held any talks. He insisted all parties in the former government remained united.
Asked whether Bhumjaithai leader and caretaker Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had explained his MPs’ abstentions to Gen Prayut, Mr Chaiwut said the prime minister was not taking the issue seriously, reiterating that there had been no talks among the coalition parties before the vote.
He saw it as necessary to set up a whip comprising the existing coalition parties. It would be in place before the parliament meets on July 13 to vote on the next prime mnister, he said. It would be announced.
He denied that setting up the whip was floated by Gen Prayut, saying the prime minister did not get involved in parliamentary matters.
Caretaker Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin, a deputy leader of the UTN, also denied there was any special agenda after his meeting with Gen Prayuth, the party’s prime ministerial candidate, at Government House on Wednesday.
Gen Prayuth had just invited him in for coffee. There were also other cabinet ministers there, he added.