Democrat Party to abstain from voting for 32nd prime minister

Pramuan Pongthawaradej, Deputy Leader of the Party and Chairman of the Party’s MPs, stated on Friday, after the Democrat Party convened to finalise its stance on the prime ministerial vote.

Previously, Chalermchai Sri-on, the party’s leader, had announced that the party's executive board had delegated the authority to the party leader to decide on joining the government and selecting individuals for political positions in accordance with the party's regulations. 

However, he stressed that no final decision had been made on which side the party would support. He compared the situation to “waiting for the dust to settle before seeing the picture clearly.”

Chalermchai also reaffirmed that the party had not been approached by the Bhumjaithai Party and that any negotiations would need to go through the party leader directly. He denied rumours suggesting that the party's leaders would join Pheu Thai, describing these as mere “political manners” due to their current collaboration in the government.

Meanwhile, Det-it Khaothong, the party’s secretary-general, emphasised that the decision to grant the party leader the authority to make decisions was made due to time constraints. 

However, he stated that if the Democrat Party were to join hands with Bhumjaithai, he would resign as an MP, calling it a “betrayal of the nation and the people,” citing his personal experience with the Khao Kradong land case and the unequal budget allocations.

Det-it also criticised the “Senate collusion case,” pointing out that the same group of senators selected members of the Election Commission (EC) and other independent organisations. 

He warned that, under this structure, the country would face a political crisis, and even if any political party obtained a majority of 400 seats, it might still be unable to govern effectively.