Thai parliament to vote for new PM on Friday

Thai parliament to vote for new PM on Friday

Bhumjaithai Party had petitioned the House for an urgent vote to elect a new prime minister.

A Thai flag waves over Bangkok’s skyline from the top of Wat Saket temple as the nation awaits its new prime minister. (AFP pic)
BANGKOK:
Thailand’s House of Representatives will vote for a new prime minister on Friday after Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s dismissal last week.

“The Speaker has added a special agenda item for the urgent selection of a new premier under Article 159 of the Constitution,” the House Secretariat said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the Bhumjaithai Party petitioned the House for an urgent vote to elect a new prime minister.

The ruling Pheu Thai Party, on the same day, sought royal approval to dissolve parliament after failing to secure a majority to form a government.

The move followed the opposition People’s Party’s announcement that it would support Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul as prime minister and join efforts to form the next administration.

Thai media reported that a royal decree to dissolve parliament, submitted by interim Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, was returned by the Office of the Privy Council on legal grounds.

On Aug 29, Paetongtarn was removed from her position by Thailand’s Constitutional Court after it found she had breached ethical standards following a controversial phone call with Cambodia’s former Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The leaked audio of the call, made amid heightened border tensions with Cambodia, sparked outrage in Thailand particularly among the opposition.

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