National —
Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP), remains confident that the 250-member Senate will vote for him as the Prime Minister.
Pita, who has recently recovered from the Covid-19 virus, travelled to the Parliament on Tuesday, June 27th, along with 150 MFP MPs to report themselves to the Secretariat of the House of Representatives.
The MFP leader said he is confident that the coalition partners, which currently encompass 8 parties, have gained enough votes from the senators to allow him to become the country’s 30th PM.
Pita’s comment came after an outspoken senator mocked that only 5 senators out of 250 will vote for Pita as PM.
At present, the coalition alliance has 312 MPs, but in order to enable Pita to take office, they need at least 376 votes or another 64 votes from the joint parliament. The PM voting date is predicted to be on or around July 13th.
When asked about his party’s policy to amend the lese-majeste law, Pita insisted it will not hinder him from becoming a premier as the amendment is only intended to prevent the law from being used as a political tool to silence dissidents and political opposition.
He emphasized the MFP plans to “amend” the law not “abolish” it.
“The senators should not use this as an excuse not to vote for me because it would create a conflict between the people’s votes and the royal institution, which is both inappropriate and perilous,” Pita stated.
He also said he has no concerns about the ongoing investigation into his media shareholding issue.
Before the PM vote takes place however there are several other steps that have to take place. Here is a current timeline of the situation.
