Anutin says PM vote should not be delayed, but no date set yet
Anutin Charnvirakul says the vote for Thailand’s next prime minister should move ahead without delay after Sophon Saram’s election as House Speaker, but stressed that the timing still depends on the formal royal endorsement process.
Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul said on Sunday that the parliamentary vote to select Thailand’s next prime minister should not be delayed after Bhumjaithai’s Sophon Saram won the House Speaker post, but added that no exact timeframe could yet be fixed because the process must first go through formal documentation and royal endorsement. Sophon, the Bhumjaithai MP for Buri Ram, was elected Speaker by 289 votes to 123, with 80 abstentions and five spoiled ballots.
Speaker endorsement comes first
Anutin said the pace of the prime ministerial vote would depend on how quickly paperwork for the new Speaker could be submitted for royal endorsement. Once the endorsement is issued and the Speaker formally acknowledges the royal command, the House of Representatives can then be convened to elect the prime minister. He said the next step was unlikely to take long, but stressed that it would be wrong to fix a date in advance because every appointment must first receive royal endorsement.
Cabinet talks to follow PM vote
Asked about cabinet preparations, Anutin said discussions on ministerial quotas with coalition partners would take place only after the prime minister had been elected. He said coalition parties would submit their nominees after the premiership had been royally endorsed, and those names would then be sent to the Secretariat of the Prime Minister for vetting. He insisted the process was moving normally and said there had been no delay so far.
Ethics checks will be tight
Anutin also signalled strict screening of prospective ministers, particularly on ethics and qualifications. He said parties were expected to filter names carefully in line with Constitutional Court guidelines, and added that if any nominee raised genuine concerns he could still discuss possible changes with the relevant party leader. He said the public’s expectations could not be ignored and that cabinet appointments would have to follow clear ethical standards.
Next step in government formation
The Speaker vote marked another key stage in the formation of the next government after Thailand’s new parliament was formally opened over the weekend. Reuters has reported that Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party has assembled a coalition bloc of more than 290 seats, strengthening expectations that he will secure parliamentary backing once the House moves to the prime ministerial vote.
