After former Prime Minister Petongtan was removed from office by the Constitutional Court, Thailand's largest opposition party, the People's Party, held a meeting on the 1st to decide which prime ministerial candidate to support. However, no outcome was reached, and the meeting will continue on the 2nd.
After the meeting, People's Party spokesperson Bali told the media that no decisions were reached at today's session and that it would continue tomorrow.
He revealed that members expressed their opinions during the meeting, and that "there were concerns about the opposing stances."
He said: "To be honest, we trust neither of the two major camps. The People's Party tends to favor an early dissolution of parliament and a new election."
According to the People's Party, for the party to support a specific prime ministerial candidate, the condition is that the candidate must agree to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections within four months. This would very likely plunge Thailand into further political turmoil.
Currently, government affairs in Thailand are handled by an acting prime minister and a caretaker cabinet. The minority government coalition led by Petongtan is still working to garner enough support to form a new government.
Petongtan's Pheu Thai Party and the former ruling coalition partner, the conservative Bhumjaithai Party, are both reaching out to the People's Party, which holds as many as 143 seats in parliament. Bhumjaithai Party previously withdrew from the coalition government over controversies regarding Petongtan's handling of border issues.
The Thai House of Representatives is scheduled to hold a special session on the 3rd. If political parties are ready to nominate candidates, a vote on the new prime minister may be held in the lower house later this week.
It is understood that the new prime ministerial candidate for Pheu Thai Party will be former Justice Minister Chai Kasem, while Bhumjaithai Party's candidate is former Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin.