By Thai Newsroom Reporters
PALANG PRACHARATH Party leader Prawit Wongsuwan today (Nov.1) downplayed hearsay over the dissolution of the House of Representatives as soon as next month amidst speculation some of his own MPs have planned to go party-hopping.
Though the top leader of the largest coalition partner merely performs as deputy prime minister who does by no means share with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha the authority to dissolve the House and call a general election, the former is apparently closely associated with and roughly as powerful as the latter.
Without elaborating, Prawit shrugged off the hearsay which has originated at Government House over the House dissolution on December 24 whilst Prayut has remained tight-lipped over the matter which has been apparently keeping certain MPs who may have planned to go party-hopping on edge.
If Prayut decides to not dissolve the House and keep it intact until the four-year term of the elected legislative branch is fully consumed on March 24, those lawmakers will be legally obliged to have held their membership of a party for no less than 90 days ahead of an election date, thus prompting those MPs with intent to go party-hopping to leave one camp for another by no later than December 24.
In the meantime, if the premier opts out by dissolving the House which will be followed by a general election in a 60-day time, those “would-be renegade” MPs will have a relatively long period of time to stay with the current camp since they will be legally obliged to have held their membership of a new one only for 30 days ahead of an election date.
Many of the “would-be renegade” MPs on either side of the House chamber aisle would prefer Prayut dissolve the House sooner or later so they could practically remain among the rank and file of their current parties rather than see the House’s four-year term fully completed in March, thus forcing them to have been registered with the new camps for no less than 90 days, partisan sources said.
Speculated to go party-hopping are MPs currently attached to the ruling Palang Pracharath Party, the opposition Pheu Thai Party and the opposition Move Forward Party, they said.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Prawit’s camp will again name Prayut as partisan candidate for head of a post-election government as had been the case in the 2019 election.
But the Palang Pracharath Party might probably name a trio of partisan contenders for prime minister to include the party boss in addition to the current premier and the other person, they said.
CAPTION:
Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Palang Pracharath Party leader Prawit Wongsuwan. Top photo: Matichon, Front Page photo: Thai Rath
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