By D. Arul Rajoo, Bernama,
Bangkok : A crucial parliament session to pick Thailand’s new prime minister was postponed to next Wednesday after about two thirds of the MPs, including those from the ruling People Power Party (PPP), staged a boycott due to dissatisfaction over the renomination of Samak Sundaravej who was sacked three days ago by the Constitution Court.
After an initial delay, the 480-seat Lower House of Representatives, which currently has 470 members due to some MPs being disqualified for election fraud, began its session when House Speaker Chai Chidchob announced that 259 MPs had registered.
But when the sole opposition party, the Democrat, nominated its leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, for the hot seat, the PPPP called for a quorum check again as they pointed out that there was a lack of quorom inside the hall.
A recount showed only 161 were present, forcing Chai to announce the postponement to Wednesday.
Despite having 223 seats and another 83 from its five coalition partners in the seven-month-old coalition government, PPP itself failed to garner the required 235 quorom and push for Samak’s reappointment as about 70 of its own MPs, as well as those from Chart Thai and Pracharaj parties stayed out.
On Tuesday, the nine-member Constitution Court reached a unanimous decision to disqualify Samak after finding him guilty of violating Article 267 of the 2007 Constitution by hosting the “Tasting and Grumbling” and “All Set at 6am cooking programmes while still in office.
But the conviction does not stop him from being nominated again.
Thailand has been in political turmoil since Aug 26 when thousands of anti-government protesters seized the Prime Minister’s Office at the Government House.
They are still occupying the premises and want Samak to resign as they claimed that he is a proxy of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
During the PPP meeting Thursday, Thaksin Shinawatra, who still has a strong grip on the party formed by his supporters, called the law-makers from London as asked them to back Samak as he was the only one with experience and stature to manage the current situation and protect democracy.
But many disagreed with the choice of Samak as his second stint could be as short as two weeks. On Sept 25, the Appeals Court will hear his appeal against a 24-month jail sentence for defamation.
PPP deputy leader and acting Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said they would meet again to review the latest situation, but ruled out dissolving the parliament.
“I don’t know why the other parties did not attend the meeting. We will consult the other parties in the next one or two days,” said the brother-in-law of Thaksin, himself in the running for the coveted post if Samak is eventually sidelined.
The Democrat has proposed a national government comprising all the political parties, with Abhisit as the prime minister, considered the most suitable in the current situation as the PAD has threatened to stay put in the Government House as long as the premier comes from PPP.
Former prime minister Chuan Leekpai, a Democrat MP, said the government had rushed into appointing a new prime minister despite being not ready and added that PPP should have nominated someone else with good credentials and able to solve the political conflict.
But with the latest development, there is a growing speculation that PPP would dissolve the parliament soon to pave way for a new election.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University, said the PPP leadership might be tempted to thrust Samak into a second term as a defiant face-off against the PAD, as well as his two unrivalled strengths of a good working relationship with the military and royalist credentials.
“An alternative PPP prime minister would have a difficult time dealing with the army from the outset, without the perception of palace endorsement and access,” he said.
The best near-term way forward remained a dissolution of the Lower House and new elections, he said.