Wan Muhamad adjourns meeting amid standoff
Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha adjourned the joint sitting of both Houses on Friday after Move Forward sought a review of the decision to reject Pita Limjaroenrat's renomination for prime minister.
The agenda for today’s meeting originally included amendment of Section 272 that allows senators to elect the prime minister, and the election of the PM by MPs and senators.
However, the speaker dropped PM election from the agenda as the Constitutional Court has not yet ruled on the petition from the Ombudsman’s Office to examine the legality of Pita's renomination.
The meeting started at 9am. As of 10am, only 279 lawmakers were present, falling short of the 374 quorum needed. The meeting, however, achieved quorum at 10.21am.
Under the Constitution, the quorum must be half the number of current parliamentarians — 747 in this case.
Shortly after the meeting opened, Move Forward MP Rangsiman Rome urged Parliament to reconsider its decision to deny Pita Limjaroenrat's renomination.
He cited Meeting Regulation No. 31 to raise the issue.
In response, Wan Muhamad said that Parliament should wait for the Constitutional Court's ruling on the matter, which is scheduled to be made public on August 16.
Senator Somchai Swangkarn agreed and reiterated that the matter was now being looked at by the court.
Senator Praphan Koonmee said he was opposed to revising a decision that had already been made.
There was no meeting regulation that allowed such a move, Praphan argued.
Amid the standoff in the debate, Wan Muhamad Noor indefinitely adjourned the meeting.
The agenda item on amending Section 272 was left unaddressed.
