Regime allies deny Thai election winner a chance to form government

BANGKOK — Thailand’s hopes to return to civilian democratic control after nearly a decade of military-dominated rule suffered a major setback Wednesday as the winner of May’s national elections, progressive Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, was blocked again from forming a new government and suspended from parliament by order of the Constitutional Court.

It was the second time in a week that Mr. Pita, 42, was rejected in a joint vote of the parliament’s House and Senate. All but 13 of the regime-appointed 250 senators voted against his proposed coalition government.

Opponents, including conservative supporters of the military and royalty, rejected Mr. Pita’s candidacy on a 394-312 vote, with eight abstentions and one lawmaker declining to vote.

Mr. Pita suffered a second blow when it was learned during the debate Wednesday that the Constitutional Court had formally suspended him from Parliament as it weighs a complaint that he failed to disclose an ownership share in a media company while campaigning. He has denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Backed by a strong youth vote and a platform to trim the power of the monarchy, military and big business, the U.S.-educated Mr. Pita was the surprise winner of May’s vote. He was looking to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who dominated the political scene since staging a 2014 coup but whose party finished far back in the pack in the election.

“The people have won half the way, but there’s another half left,” a stunned-looking Mr. Pita said during the debate Wednesday. “Although I still won’t get to perform my duty, I’d like to ask all members to help take care of the people from now on.”

“Until we meet again,” he concluded, rising from his seat and obeying the Constitutional Court’s sudden order to immediately exit the building. “I’m acknowledging and complying with it, until a verdict has been made.”

He unclipped his identification badge from his suit collar, placed it on the desk in front of his House chair, and walked away.

Mr. Pita could still be a candidate, because a prime minister does not have to be a parliament member, but his political future appeared deeply uncertain. Mr. Pita said on Monday he was willing to consider an alternative prime minister nominee from another party in his coalition if he was rejected a second time.

The second-biggest winner in May 14’s House election, the Pheu Thai (For Thais) Party, may nominate party leader Srettha Thavisin, a real estate tycoon and political newcomer, as its candidate to be prime minister. But he is likely to face the same skepticism that torpedoed Mr. Pita.

One flashpoint in the debate has been the Move Forward Party’s support for a proposal to scale back Thailand’s severe prison sentences for those who “defame” the monarch under the constitution’s widely feared Section 112.

Relations between the U.S. and Thailand are expected to remain relatively unchanged as the election is sorted out. However, the Biden administration has expressed concern with how the process is playing out.

“We are very closely watching the post-election developments — that includes the recent developments in the legal system, which are of concern,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters earlier this week in Washington.

Mr. Pita’s eight-party coalition may stay together or reconfigure with other parties without him and his MFP — and leave the top vote-getter in May’s election the leader of the opposition.

Mr. Pita is feared and despised by many in the military, royalist, and financial establishment, and Mr. Prayuth helped push through a new constitution in 2017 designed to protect the conservative military-royal alliance.

The unelected Senate, all appointed by the government, angrily rejects any plan to weaken the legal protections for the monarchy. The leader of the third-biggest party in the new House, Health Minister Anutin Charnveerakul, also said Wednesday he would not give his Bhumjai Thai party’s prized 71 House seats to any coalition, which includes Mr. Pita or his MFP, citing the lese majeste law.

Many officers in the U.S.-trained military oppose Mr. Pita because he wants to outlaw their profitable commercial enterprises, reduce the number of generals, put civilians in charge of military promotions, “demilitarize” the government, and end conscription.

“The 2017 constitution was designed to protect conservative interests in Thai politics, and what we are seeing is the Constitution in action,” Jacob Ricks, a political science professor at Singapore Management University, told The Associated Press. “Pita’s fate, or that of any progressive movement, was largely sealed long before this election.”