Thailand’s frontrunner for prime minister Pita Limjaroenrat said he is willing to step aside and let his coalition partner Pheu Thai party form the next government, should he fail in his attempts to secure the country’s top political office.
In a video message posted on Saturday, Pita said he will renew his candidacy for prime minister when the parliament meets again on Thursday to elect a new leader. The 42-year-old leader of Move Forward Party had failed to get enough support from lawmakers in his first attempt on July 13.
Even if Pheu Thai were to stake claim at government formation eventually, the party that finished in the second-place in the May 14 general election still needs to muster enough support from the 250-member military-appointed coalition to succeed. Only 13 senators had voted for Pita, with the rest either abstaining or voting against his candidacy over his party’s push to reform the so-called lese majeste law that punishes anyone defaming or insulting the Thai king or other royals.
Pita urged supporters to help him on his “missions” and try “every imaginable way possible” to convince senators to back his nomination in the second joint sitting of the National Assembly on July 19. His party is separately trying to push through a bill that seeks to strip the Senate of the power to vote.
“If we have tried our best in these two battlegrounds and it becomes evident that Move Forward Party has no chance at forming the next government, I’m willing to give Thailand a chance by letting Pheu Thai Party take the lead of the eight-party coalition,” he said in the video.
“But until that day, we’re certainly not giving up,” he said. “I’m asking you to fight together until the end.”
