Bhumjaithai might take turn to form majority govt: Chonlanan

By Thai Newsroom Reporters

A DESPERATE PHEU THAI LEADER Chonlanan Srikaew said today (July 24) the Bhumjaithai could possibly be given a pivotal role of setting up a majority government now that the Pheu Thai may have failed to find enough support for a partisan candidate for prime minister.

Given the task of mustering endorsement from parties and senators for the planned naming of Pheu Thai contestant Srettha Thavisin for prime minister, the second largest elected party might probably come to the conclusion that it has already failed to make it, thus prompting the possibility of leaving the business of forming a majority government to the Bhumjaithai as the third largest one under de facto party boss Newin Chidchob, according to the Pheu Thai leader.

The Move Forward, the No.1 largest elected party, has earlier failed to have Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat voted for prime minister in recent joint House/Senate meetings and then passed on the roles of the core of eight coalition partners to the Pheu Thai under de facto party boss/deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

In spite of already securing support from a majority of 311 MPs to set up of a majority government, the Pheu Thai-led coalition partners including the Move Forward are apparently lacking adequate votes for any prime-ministerial candidate who is constitutionally required to get yea votes from more than half the combined total of MPs and senators or at least 375 votes.

Pheu Thai prime-ministerial candidate Srettha Thavision, known as personally associated with deposed prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, might probably encounter the same stumbling blocks as Pita did during the upcoming Thursday’s joint House/Senate session. Pita had only gotten 324 yea votes from the coalition MPs plus 13 senators with 51 votes being short of the minimum number for him to rise to power.

Though the non-coalition camps only have 188 MPs on their side, they are considerably expected to get overwhelming support from a vast majority of the 249 senators, all of whom had been handpicked by Palang Pracharath leader Prawit Wongsuwan and coup leader-turned-prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Chonlanan said the anti-Move Forward stand commonly adopted by leaderships of non-coalition parties including the Bhumjaithai, Palang Pracharath, Ruam Thai Sang Chart and Chart Thai Pattana during informal talks with their Pheu Thai counterparts over the weekend will certainly top the agenda of tomorrow’s meeting between the Pheu Thai-led coalition partners.

Chonlanan admitted the Pheu Thai might probably give up such a painstaking role and pass it on to the Bhumjaithai shortly so that a coalition government could be successfully set up to run the country instead of continuing to leave it to Prayut’s caretaker government.

According to the Pheu Thai leader, any of the Pheu Thai-led coalition partners might probably sooner or later opt out by hopping over to the other side since they could not find adequate support for the Move Forward leader’s rise to elected premiership. He declined to comment whether he may have referred to Thaksin’s camp, however.

The Pheu Thai-led coalition partners currently have a combined force of 311 MPs without Pita who has been recently ordered by the Constitutional Court to stop performing as MP at the moment whilst the Bhumjaithai-led camps currently have a combined force of 188 MPs.

Whilst the Pheu Thai efforts to find solid support from the non-coalition parties for the planned naming and voting of Srettha for prime minister are openly known to the public, parallel moves are allegedly made in stealth fashion to prompt Thaksin’s camp to leave the pro-Move Forward coalition for the anti-Move Forward alliance and make a majority government with either the real estate tycoon or the Palang Pracharath leader becoming head of government.

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Top and Front Page: Pheu Thai leader Chonlanan Srikaew. Credit: Matichon

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