Bhumjaithai insists on dissolving House in four months as demanded by People’s Party
Bhumjaithai vows to dissolve the House in four months if backed by People’s Party, promising to tackle economic woes and border conflicts first.
In a bid to secure support from the People’s Party (PP), Bhumjaithai Party deputy leader Siripong Angkasaskulkiat insisted on Monday that a Bhumjaithai-led government would dissolve the House within four months if PP MPs voted for its party leader as the next prime minister.
Siripong stressed that Bhumjaithai would be ready to dissolve the House and return the ruling mandate to the people via an election within four months after the next government delivers its policy statement to Parliament.
He said that if the PP decided to back Bhumjaithai, the main opposition party could be confident it would be able to direct the political course in line with the agreement.
Siripong admitted Bhumjaithai could not renege on its promise since the number of its MPs was far fewer than those of the PP, making a Bhumjaithai-led coalition a minority government that would be easily influenced by the opposition’s majority votes.
Bhumjaithai is competing with the Pheu Thai Party to form the next government after former prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was removed from office by the Constitutional Court on Friday.
Neither Bhumjaithai nor Pheu Thai holds a majority in the House, forcing both parties to court the PP. The PP has stated it will not join any coalition but will vote for the prime ministerial candidate of any party that promises to dissolve the House within four months and prepare for a new charter rewriting.
Siripong said Bhumjaithai wanted to resolve the country’s pressing issues, including economic problems and border conflicts with Cambodia, hence its offer to lead the next government. He added that Bhumjaithai would also support the enactment of a public referendum law to pave the way for a constitution drafting assembly, as demanded by the PP.
“After the policy statement, we can count down to the next election in four months. It’s simple, and we’ll respect the condition of the PP,” Siripong said.
He added that Bhumjaithai disagreed with Pheu Thai’s proposal for an immediate House dissolution, arguing that urgent issues such as border conflicts would be left unresolved. He said a three-to-four-month period would provide enough time to address these problems before the election.
