Countdown to Parliament meeting on July 3
Thailand’s politics is now in a pivotal phase after the announcement by royal decree last week that the next session of Parliament will begin on July 3, after which the House Speaker is expected to be elected.
The decree is in line with Section 121 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, stating that a Parliament session should be held within 15 days from the announcement date of general election results.
Thailand held its general election on May 14, and the Election Commission certified all 500 elected MPs on June 19.
The first order of the Parliament meeting is to have MPs elect the dual post of House Speaker and Parliament President. The result is expected to be announced on July 4.
Current House Speaker Chuan Leekpai will act as interim president of the meeting. He will supervise the election for the new House Speaker, which will be carried out by secret ballot.
The dual post of House Speaker and Parliament President is sought after by both Move Forward and Pheu Thai, the two parties that gained the most MP seats (151 and 141, respectively) in the general election and are in a coalition.
Analysts said if the two parties could not reach an agreement, the setting up of the Move Forward-led coalition government could be difficult.
Analysts also believed that the new House Speaker could set July 15 as the Parliament meeting date to vote for the country’s 30th Prime Minister.
The voting process for a new prime minister will be different, 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.
Since Senators also have a say in voting for PM, the winning candidate might not necessarily come from the party that won the general election.
This means that candidates such as Anutin Charnvirakul from Bhumjaithai Party and General Prawit Wongsuwon from Palang Pracharath Party also have a shot at the premier title.
Bhumjaithai and Palang Pracharath ranked third and fourth in the May 14 general election with 71 and 40 MPs, respectively.
