Advertisement
Approve Pita as prime minister or ‘get out’, Thailand protesters tell senators
- The Move Forward Party’s leader Pita Limjaroenrat has twice failed to be confirmed as Thailand’s next leader, largely thanks to obstinate senators
- As many as 1,000 demonstrators braved heavy rain and took to Bangkok’s busy Asok Intersection on Sunday, many shouting ‘senators, get out!’
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Hundreds of people gathered in Thailand’s capital of Bangkok on Sunday to demand that conservative senators stop blocking the naming of a prime minister belonging to a winning coalition formed from May’s general election, a stance that risks a potentially destabilising political deadlock.
Advertisement
Protesters braved heavy rain to show their anger and frustration toward the members of the Senate, who were appointed by the military and pride themselves as defenders of traditional royalist values, which they believe are under threat.
The surprise election winner, the Move Forward Party, has failed in two efforts to have its leader Pita Limjaroenrat confirmed as the next prime minister, largely because he failed to woo enough votes from the senators, who are disturbed by the party’s reformist policy platform.
As many as 1,000 demonstrators took to Bangkok’s busy Asok Intersection with umbrellas and raincoats, many shouting “senators, get out!” Speakers at the peaceful rally also called for political parties in a coalition assembled by Move Forward not to “switch sides” by joining hands with other parties that supported the outgoing government of Prayuth Chan-ocha, who as army commander seized power in a 2014 coup and was returned as prime minister after the 2019 election.
Sombat Boonngam-anong, a veteran social activist who organised the rally, told the crowd that senators only have the right to vote yes, and described voting no as unconstitutional.
“You can only vote yes, because the people already said yes to the results. You don’t have the right to vote anything else,” he declared of the senators’ responsibilities.
Advertisement
The Move Forward Party finished first in May’s general election and formed an eight-party coalition, which together won a majority of 312 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives. But under the military-enacted constitution, a new prime minister must receive the support of a combined majority of both the lower house and the unelected 250-seat Senate.
Advertisement