House speaker sets July 27 for PM vote
Democrat MP and former House Speaker Chuan Leekpai said he sympathized with House Speaker and Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha for having to solve the dispute between more than 700 parliamentarians during the meeting to vote for the next Prime Minister on Wednesday.
“Keeping that many people under control is not easy, especially when they have different opinions and want to voice theirs,” said Chuan, who served as House Speaker from May 2019 to March 2023. “Some disputes can only be solved by considering laws and regulations.”
After more than eight hours of debate on Wednesday, Wan Noor called for a vote to decide if renominating Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat as PM candidate violated Parliament regulation No 41.
394 of 715 parliamentarians voted that Pita was ineligible for renomination in line with the regulation, which forbids the resubmission of a motion that has already failed in a session.
312 parliamentarians supported Pita’s renomination, citing that the Parliament was in the process of nominating Pita as premier and was thus not resubmitting a motion. Eight abstained, and one did not vote.
Pita needed at least 374 votes.
Wan Noor then set the date for the next round of voting for Thailand’s 30th Prime Minister for next Thursday (July 27). He also maintained the criterion that the winner must gain at least 374 votes.
After another failed session to vote for PM, some parties reportedly said that the House Speaker should have exercised his right to arbitrate the dispute over regulation no.41 instead of calling for a vote. In response, Chuan said that the decision on the measure to be used depends on the House Speaker’s discretion, but he personally believed that the House Speaker should always adhere to the laws and regulations.
Chuan also said he could not predict when the PM voting process will be over.
