Bangkok: Pita Close Alliances, Lese Majesty Issue Remains Pending

The leader of the progressive Move Forward party announced today the formation of a new coalition that will guarantee the support of 313 deputies. They are still not enough to ensure the investiture of the Prime Minister. The Bhumjaithai party, which came in third behind Pheu Thai, along with some senators, announced that they will not vote for a prime minister who is in favor of amending Section 112 of the Penal Code.

Bangkok () – The leader of the Phak Kao Klai (or Move Forward Party, MFP), Pita Limjaroenrat, whose party won the most seats in the Thai parliamentary elections, announced the formation of an eight-party government coalition, while The lèse majeste amendment is likely to create a political stalemate.

Thanks to the alliance, 313 deputies agreed to vote in favor of the appointment of the progressive leader as prime minister. However, this figure is still far from the 376 parliamentary votes needed for the opposition leader to win the go-ahead to form an executive. The 63 missing votes will have to be found among the rest of the legislators in the Chamber or in the Senate, whose 250 members were not elected, but appointed by the Military Junta after the last coup in 2014. In the 2019 elections, the Senators voted en bloc to reappoint former general Prayut Can-o-cha, who had led the coup five years earlier, as prime minister. Some senators have already expressed their opposition to the appointment of Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister, accusing him of not sympathizing with the monarchy.

“I want to thank all the votes that people have given us. They represent hope and the desire for change. The new government will work honestly and it will be the government of all Thai people,” Pita said today from the Okura Prestige Bangkok hotel, from where presented the government coalition. Among the allies will be Pheu Thai -the Shinawatra family party that had won all the elections since 2001, but came second in the May 14 elections-, which will be joined by smaller formations: Prachachat, Thai Sang Thai, Seri Ruam Thai, Fair, Plung Sungkom Mai and Peu Thai Rumphlang.

On May 22, the ninth anniversary of the last coup, details of a memorandum of understanding will also be released, outlining the guidelines that underpin the alliance and according to which national, economic and social challenges will be addressed. , continued the progressive leader.

When asked by journalists, Pita refused to comment on the reform of article 112 of the Penal Code, which refers to the crime of lèse majesté. During the electoral campaign, the MFP had repeatedly proposed the modification – not the abolition – of this law, which provides for up to 15 years in prison and is frequently used by the government to silence activists and political opponents, sometimes even minors.

In this regard, the Bhumjaithai party, which came third in the elections, announced on its Facebook page that it will not vote for a prime minister who supports a change in the crime of lese majesty, calling it a “non-negotiable principle.” For this reason, according to some commentators, Bhumjaithai, until now part of the alliance that supported the outgoing Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, with his 70 seats in the Chamber, could become the needle in the balance in the formation of the future Government.

Pheu Thai himself, despite having agreed to form a coalition with the MFP, expressed some doubts about the amendment: former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he would not support any measure that would harm the monarchy. The position of the Pheu Thai party and the Shinawatra family is that we respect and love the institution of the monarchy,” he explained. His daughter Paetongtarn, a candidate in the election, had been more conciliatory at first, saying she was willing to discuss a possible reform of article 112 in Parliament.