By Thai Newsroom Reporters
PRIME MINISTER PRAYUT Chan-o-cha has remained tight-lipped as to whether he may apply for membership of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party so he would likely be named a partisan candidate for head of a post-election government again.
When asked by reporters today (Oct. 24), Prayut stopped short of either confirming or denying that he will ever register himself as member of the largest coalition partner headed by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan.
Though the unelected Prayut was the sole Palang Pracharath candidate for head of the coalition government, the core of which being Prawit’s camp, after the 2019 election, he has been strongly advised to see to it that he be named for the top post of government by the same party again in the next general election, simply by applying himself as partisan contender, a Palang Pracharath source said.
Neither has the Palang Pracharath boss made comments over the matter surrounding the approaching political future of the current premier whom the Constitutional Court has allowed to prolong his rule until 2025, given a majority of yea votes from lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and Senate combined, following the next general election.
Nevertheless, the Palang Pracharath Party might probably name a trio of partisan contestants for prime minister instead of one as had been the case in the previous election, thus prompting Prayut to make it certain that he will finally be one among the trio, the partisan source said.
In addition to Prayut, who has earlier admitted to having intended to remain in power for two more years after the next election to roughly complete the eight-year rule maximumly provided by law, Prawit is largely speculated to be another one among the trio of partisan contenders for prime minister.
The persistent calls for Prayut to practically join the rank and file of Prawit’s camp apparently emerged in the wake of the probability that he might prefer to be named a partisan candidate for prime minister by the Ruam Thai Sang Chart Party instead.
The brand-new party headed by former Democrat MP Pirapan Salirathawipak is more or less expected to foster a popular stronghold among southern constituents many of whom have reportedly been undecided between the Democrat Party, Bhumjaithai Party and Palang Pracharath Party, all currently being coalition partners.
CAPTIONS:
Top from left to right: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Palang Pracharath Party leader Prawit Wongsuwan and Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda with the Palang Pracharath Party logo in the background.
Front Page: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Both photos: Matichon
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