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BLOOMBERG
Pro-royalist members of Thailand’s upper house are facing mounting pressure to back Pita Limjaroenrat as the country’s next premier, after the Move Forward leader staked a claim to form a coalition government of pro-democracy parties that swept the election.
Hurdles have emerged in Pita’s path to power after some of the 250 unelected members of the Senate, stacked with allies of the pro-military establishment of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, expressed their opposition to his bid for the top job, saying they won’t be guided by the election results alone. Under Thailand’s constitution, the 250-member Senate gets to vote alongside the 500-member lower house in picking the next PM.
In a country with a long history of coups, much of the opposition to Pita stems from his party’s pledges to amend the lese majeste law, which punishes criticism against King Maha Vajiralongkorn and other members of the royal family by up to 15 years in prison, end military conscription and rewrite the junta-era constitution.