The Thai parliament will vote for a new prime minister after royal officials rejected a request by the ruling Pheu Thai Party to dissolve parliament.
Caretaker Premier Phumtham Wechayachai said on Thursday that the Office of the Privy Council had rejected Pheu Thai’s request, saying it was “inappropriate to present the draft of the Royal Decree to His Majesty at this time”.
The party of former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, which is still governing in a caretaking capacity, submitted its request to dissolve the legislature to the palace on Wednesday.
The office told Wechayachai there were “disputed legal issues” over the authority of a caretaker premier to dissolve parliament.
The decision leaves the way open for the parliament to elect a new leader, amid a power vacuum that has stirred chaos in Thai politics since Friday, when the Constitutional Court sacked Paetongtarn over an ethics breach.
Clear path
The move to dissolve parliament had come swiftly after the major opposition People’s Party announced it would back another opposition force, the conservative populist Bhumjaithai Party, to form the next government.
The royal refusal leaves the path clear for MPs to vote for a new prime minister.
The opposition coalition suggests that Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul will win the vote, which is scheduled to take place on Friday at about 10:00am (03:00 GMT).
Pheu Thai has said it will nominate former Attorney General Chaikasem Nitisiri, 77, for the premiership. The party has also said it is prepared to call a snap election if Chaikasem wins.
“We will immediately dissolve parliament so that the democratic system can continue,” acting PM Phumtham told reporters.
The play appears to be a bid by Pheu Thai to undermine the pact between Bhumjaithai and the People’s Party, under which the latter – the largest party in parliament – would back Anutin in return for a promise to dissolve the house in four months.
However, People’s Party deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun insisted that her party would honour the agreement.
Dominant forces
Anutin, 58, previously served as deputy prime minister, interior minister and health minister, but is perhaps most famous for delivering on a promise in 2022 to legalise cannabis.
Pheu Thai has been a dominant force in Thai politics for two decades, cultivating a populist brand which has jousted with the pro-military, pro-monarchy establishment.
Paetongtarn’s sacking dealt another heavy blow to the Shinawatra dynasty, increasingly bedevilled by legal and political setbacks.
Anutin once backed Paetongtarn’s coalition, but abandoned it over her conduct in the border dispute with Cambodia, which resulted in her removal last week.
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