Rehearsal kicks off countdown to vote for new PM, House Speaker
The countdown to the selection of a new prime minister and House Speaker began on Tuesday with a rehearsal of the voting process.
A secret ballot will be used to select the winning Speaker candidate, said Sinee Sommee, director of Secretariat of the House of Representatives, which conducted Tuesday’s rehearsal.
MPs will elect a new Speaker and deputies within 15 days of the opening of Parliament, which is expected around mid-July.
The voting process for a new prime minister will differ, with Senators joining MPs in a roll-call vote. To be elected as prime minister, a candidate must receive a simple majority of at least 376 votes at the joint session.
If no candidate wins a simple majority in the first vote, candidates can be nominated again for a second contest, Sinee said.
If a candidate drops out of the contest, MPs can propose a replacement drawn from among the MPs of any party with at least 25 MPs.
MPs and Senators could nominate new PM candidates and then vote on them immediately, she added.
However, if no PM candidate receives a simple majority in the first round of voting, a new round of nominations would be expected to take place the next day.
