Parliament vote for Thailand’s next PM postponed
House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha has postponed the PM vote scheduled for Thursday in response to ombudsmen calling on the Constitutional Court to rule on lawmakers’ blocking PM-hopeful Pita Limjaroenrat’s renomination.
On Monday, the three ombudsmen unanimously questioned whether lawmakers violated the Constitution by blocking Move Forward Party leader Pita from being renominated for a second round of voting for prime minister.
Pita’s bid for the PM’s post was foiled by 395 parliamentarians, who argued that his renomination would breach parliamentary regulation No 41, which forbids the resubmission of a motion that has already failed in the same session.
After meeting with the Parliament’s legal team on Tuesday, Wan Noor said the meeting will be postponed, so it does not interfere with the Constitutional Court’s investigation.
He also said the meeting of the three whips – representing the Senate, parties in the coalition and outside the bloc – will be automatically postponed. The meeting was initially scheduled for 2pm on Wednesday.
Wan Noor added that several MPs and senators asked him to delay the PM vote scheduled for Thursday because they were otherwise engaged. He said Parliament may not meet a quorum if it convenes as scheduled.
