Parliament has chosen Thailand’s prime minister. Business tycoon Srettha Thavisin of the Pheu Thai Party secured more than enough of the 374 votes needed to become the Kingdom’s leader during Thailand’s parliamentary vote today.
By the end of the vote, the 61-year-old who was the sole candidate in the bid for the PM position, gained a total of 481 votes for his ascension, with 330 from the House of Representatives and 151 from the Senate. A total of 165 opposed his candidacy while 81 abstained.
Srettha will lead a coalition of 14 parties that includes two pro-military parties affiliated with outgoing Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha – Palang Pracharath and United Thai Nation. Move Forward was excluded from the coalition due to the party’s stance on amending the lese majeste law, a reason why Pheu Thai says the Move Forward-led coalition could not gain enough support.
Despite backlash and criticism for betraying the initial election results, Pheu Thai’s leaders said it was a necessity to ally with their former usurpers to ensure stability, promising to work efficiently to achieve the policies they promised.
Back at the Pheu Thai HQ in New Petchburi Road, many of the parties’ supporters danced and celebrated in numbers while wearing red shirts.
The vote came hours after former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who founded Pheu Thai, returned to Thailand after 15 years of self-imposed exile. He was arrested and given a sentence of eight years, according to the Supreme Court. Thaksin has continued to deny any connection with today’s voting, but political commentators believe a Pheu Thai-led government will mean a lighter sentence for Thaksin.
As voting drew to a close, with about 700 votes counted, an as-yet unidentified person fainted and required medical attention. Medical staff were seen giving someone CPR, but no footage showed the incident. Early reports claim it is a member of the Move Forward Party.
Thailand’s political future has been hanging in the balance since May’s elections when progressive Move Forward won the most votes in the election. Hopes for a change to the status quo came to a halt when Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat failed to secure enough votes twice last month. The second round saw the 42-year-old politician disqualified from participating in politics due to having shares of a now defunct media company.
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