By Linda Khoo Hui Li
BANGKOK, Aug 16 (NNN-Bernama) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected a petition to review the parliamentary decision that blocked the renomination of Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s second prime ministerial bid, dashing the party’s hope to form the next government.
The court said its decision was unanimous.
It said the petition was lodged by a group of individuals that did not include the prime ministerial candidate.
“Their rights were not directly violated. They do not have the right to file the complaint,” it said in a statement.
Last month, the MFP’s allies filed a petition with the Office of the Ombudsman against the parliamentary resolution on July 19 that blocked Pita from being nominated for prime ministerial candidate for a second time after his first attempt failed.
Today’s decision will pave the way for Parliament to convene within days to vote for a new prime minister.
Pheu Thai Party, which came in second in the May 14 general election with 141 seats, is expected to nominate political greenhorn and businessman Srettha Thavisin as its choice for prime minister.
Pheu Thai abandoned the MFP early this month and is now leading a coalition with eight other parties, including Bhumjaithai Party, a member of the outgoing government, in an attempt to break the political impasse to form a new government, three months after the election.
At present, the coalition has a total of 238 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives. However, it is still short of the required backing, which needs to be supplemented by support from the 250 senators in the Senate as a prime minister needed 376 votes in the 750-member bicameral Parliament to form a government.
— NNN-BERNAMA
