Thai Constitutional Court suspends country’s election winner from Parliament

July 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday suspended the winner of the country’s elections, Pita Limjaroenrat, of the opposition party Advance, from his seat in Parliament.

The announcement came after the court accepted a complaint about Pita’s actions in the defunct iTV Plc chain, the Bangkok Post reported.

The country’s constitution prohibits parliamentarians from owning media shares, although Pita has claimed that his 42,000 shares were part of his father’s estate that he “managed as executor” and that he has since transferred ownership to his relatives.

However, this suspension does not prevent his appointment as prime minister of the country. This Wednesday he will have another attempt to win the support of both houses of Parliament and he has already announced that if he fails again, he will withdraw his candidacy.

Pita is at the head of a coalition of eight parties that adds up to 312 of the 500 deputies elected in the House of Representatives, although this majority is insufficient due to the decision-making power of the Senate to appoint the new prime minister.

The opposition coalition needs 376 seats between the two legislative chambers to confirm the head of government. To clear any hurdles in the Senate, it would have been ideal for him to get all those seats in the elections.