Bangkok (AsiaNews) – Thailand’s new parliament is set to formally convene next Monday (3 July) amid tensions following the 14 May elections.
The House of Representatives (lower house) will meet the next day, while the full National Assembly (which includes the upper house or Senate) will meet on 13 July.
The two main items on the agenda are: Which of the two main coalitions has enough votes to form a government, and who will be the next prime minister.
Under the 2017 constitution imposed by the military who seized power in May 2014 in a coup led by outgoing prime minister, General Prayut Chan-ocha (ret), the head of government will be picked by a joint session of the National Assembly, which includes the 500 elected Members of the House of Representatives and 250 senators chosen by the Armed Forces.
This system is designed to prevent any party opposed to the military, monarchy, and nationalist groups from asserting themselves.
Since the May election, an eight-party coalition has emerged, mustering some 312 votes in the 500-member house. This falls far short of the 376 votes needed to pick a prime minister. Hence, talks have been underway between the lower house majority and senators to get at least 60 votes from the upper house.
This is a hard task, since senators have an interest in maintaining the system controlled by the military and traditional elites.
As expected, on Saturday pro-military parties picked General Prawit Wongsuwon (ret), leader of the Phak Phalang Pracharat (People's State Power Party), as their candidate for the post of prime minister.
Within the winning coalition, consultations are underway to share the main government posts, including that of the speaker of the lower house, and that of prime minister.
The leading candidate is Pita Limjaroenrat, head of the Phak Kao Klai (Move Forward Party), which has the biggest number of seats.
If he should fail, the second party in the coalition, Phak Phuea Thai (For Thais Party), is likely to push its candidate for the post.
Although the military particularly dislike this party, it would be a lesser threat to their role and interests, especially in terms of legal prosecution of those accused of repression, brutality, and killings.
For the monarchy, Phak Phuea Thai might also be a lesser threat, since Phak Kao Klai – driven by a strong movement of opinion, in particular among the urban middle classes and young people – wants to review its role and change the lèse-majesté law which has been used to stifle dissent and crack down on opposition politicians.
Over the years, respect for the monarchy has been eroded since it has never challenged the military when it intervened in the country’s political life.
