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Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of Move Forward Party, speaks to media as he announces the victory in Sunday's general election at the party's headquarters in Bangkok on May 15, 2023. Thailand’s Constitutional Court cleared the way Wednesday, Aug. 16, for Parliament to vote for a new prime minister more than three months after national elections by declining to rule on a complaint over the rejection of the winning party's leader, Pita. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn, File)

Reformer out, military back in as Thailand moves to break governing impasse

By Richard S. Ehrlich – Special to The Washington Times - The Washington Times

United Thai Nation Party spokesperson Akaradej Wongpitakroj talks to reporters during a press conference at the United Thai Nation Party Headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. A pro-military party affiliated with the outgoing prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thursday it has agreed to join a coalition led by the populist Pheu Thai Party to form Thailand's next government. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Pro-military party says it will join populist Pheu Thai party to form Thailand’s next government

By Jintamas Saksornchai - Associated Press

Srettha Thavisin, a real estate tycoon and advisor to the opposition Pheu Thai party, arrives at Pheu Thai Party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 17, 2023. The Pheu Thai party has since cobbled up a coalition consisting of nine parties that together hold 238 seats in the lower house, still short of the majority it needs. Pheu Thai has said it will nominate estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin, as prime minister. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

Court clears the way for Thai Parliament to pick a new prime minister 3 months after elections

By Jintamas Saksornchai - Associated Press

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra welcomes his guests for the wedding of his youngest daughter Paetongtarn "Ing" Shinawatra at a hotel in Hong Kong on March 22, 2019. Thaksin attended a birthday party for outgoing Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh, according to video posted online Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023, a day after Thaksin said he would delay plans to return to Thailand following years of self-imposed exile. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra seen in video at Cambodian leader’s birthday party

By Sopheng Cheang and Jintamas Saksornchai - Associated Press

Supporters of the Move Forward Party hold a portrait of Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of Move Forward Party, during a protest in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, July 29, 2023. Thai parliament on Thursday set the date of the vote for prime minister next week, for the third time, as political uncertainty continues to grow more than two months after the general election. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit) **FILE**

Popular vote-winning party in May election dumped from planned new coalition government

By Richard S. Ehrlich

This UGC photo made available by a source wishing to remain anonymous shows Chinese rights lawyer Lu Siwei on a road, at an undisclosed location, around 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Vientiane, Laos, Thursday, July 27, 2023, as he headed south to the border with Thailand. Lu, stripped of his license for taking on sensitive cases, has been arrested in the Southeast Asian country of Laos, with activists and family members worried he will be deported back to China where he could face prison time.(Anonymous Source via AP)

A rights lawyer who was fleeing China has been arrested in neighboring Laos

By Dake Kang - Associated Press

Gao Peng, son of Chinese dissident Gao Zhi, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 17, 2023. Since landing in Thailand July 3, he says he has been accused of making bomb threats, put on an EU travel blacklist, and seem his mother and 16-year-old sister detained and threatened with deportation back to China. The threats, made in the family's names against airports, luxury hotels and the Chinese embassy in Bangkok derailed their plans to join Gao Zhi in the Netherlands. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Accused of bomb threats they say they didn’t make, family of Chinese dissident detained in Thailand

By Huizhong Wu and Tian Macleod Ji and Jintamas Saksornchai - Associated Press

Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra welcomes his guests for the wedding of his youngest daughter Paetongtarn "Ing" Shinawatra at a hotel in Hong Kong on March 22, 2019. As Thailand grapples with the unexpectedly difficult task of naming a new prime minister, the most controversial former holder of the job, billionaire populist Thaksin Shinawatra, plans to return home next month from years of self-imposed exile, his daughter announced Wednesday, July 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

Thailand’s divisive ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra readies return during political turmoil

By Jintamas Saksornchai - Associated Press

Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of Move Forward Party, center. and Leader of Pheu Thai party Chonlanan Srikaew, left , wave to supporters after meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 17, 2023. The top candidate to become Thailand's next prime minister, Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who was rebuffed last week by an initial vote of Parliament, declared Monday he will remain a candidate for a second round of ballot but acknowledges he may have to make way for a political ally if he cannot attract substantially more support. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thai Parliament blocks leader of party that won election from being renominated for prime minister

By Grant Peck and Jintamas Saksornchai - Associated Press

Leader of Move Forward Party Pita Limjaroenrat arrives before the signing of a memorandum of understanding on attempt to form a coalition government between Move Forward Party and other parties during a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand on May 22, 2023. Thailand's state Election Commission announced Wednesday, July 12, it has concluded there is evidence that the top candidate to become the country's next prime minister, Move Forward party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, has violated election law, and has referred his case to the Constitutional Court for a ruling. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

Thailand’s Election Commission says a reformist candidate for prime minister may have broken the law

By Jinatamas Saksornchai and Grand Peck - Associated Press

Thailand's Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai walks after the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia by The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Thailand's top diplomat said Wednesday that he met ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi in detention over the weekend and she conveyed her openness to engage in talks to resolve the crisis in her strife-torn nation. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Thai diplomat meets with Suu Kyi in detention in Myanmar and says she wants to join talks on crisis

By Jim Gomez and Edna Tarigan - Associated Press

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha arrives to cast his vote during a general election at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 14, 2023. Prayuth, who served almost nine years in office after seizing power in a 2014 military coup, announced Tuesday, July 11, that he is leaving politics. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

Thailand’s prime minister, who seized power in a 2014 coup, quits politics after losing election

By Jintamas Saksornchai - Associated Press

Leader of Move Forward Party Pita Limjaroenrat, center, answers a question from a reporter after signing a memorandum of understanding on attempt to form a coalition government between Move Forward Party and other parties during a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, May 22, 2023. Move Forward won the most seats in the May 14 election, and it has formed a coalition that seeks to become the government when Parliament selects a prime minister in July. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand’s road back to democratic rule faces key test

By Richard S. Ehrlich

In this May 17, 2023, photo, leader of Pheu Thai party Chonlanan Srikaew, left gestures with the leader of Move Forward Party Pita Limjaroenrat, in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand Politics Newly elected lawmakers in Thailand gathered Monday for the opening session of Parliament, which is tasked with selecting a new prime minister after May's general election saw the country's progressive Move Forward Party unexpectedly come out on top. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thai opposition party struggles to take power after stunning election victory

By Jintamas Saksornchai and Grant Peck - Associated Press

Mahout ride "Sak Surin," an ailing elephant that had allegedly not been well cared-for in Sri Lanka, which had received it as a gift from the Thai government, but was returned to its home country and taken to the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in Lampang province in northern Thailand on Sunday, July 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Nareerat Chaywichain)

An ailing Thai elephant returns home for medical care after years of neglect in Sri Lanka

By Jintamas Saksornchai - Associated Press

Asian elephant Sak Surin, gifted by the Thai Royal family and named Muthu Raja or pearly king in Sri Lanka, stands by a water pond at the national zoological garden in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, June 30, 2023. Sak Surin, or the honor of the Thai province of Surin, spends its last hours in Sri Lanka its adopted home, awaiting to be airlifted back to its country of birth after alleged abuse. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A temple elephant in Sri Lanka will be airlifted back to Thailand after allegations of neglect

By Krishan Francis - Associated Press

A Royalist protester waves a Thai national flag in front of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 24, 2023. The U.S. ambassador to Thailand dismissed claims of American interference in recent elections as a "disservice" to the Thai people, saying Tuesday, June 27, 2023, that Washington does not support any individual candidate or political party. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

U.S. ambassador dismisses claims of American interference in Thailand’s elections

By David Rising - Associated Press

Leader of Move Forward Party Pita Limjaroenrat, left, waves after signing a memorandum of understanding on attempt to form a coalition government between Move Forward Party and other parties during a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, May 22, 2023. Move Forward won the most seats in the May 14 election, and it has formed a coalition that seeks to become the government when Parliament selects a prime minister in July. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Legal case clouds Thai path back to civilian rule

By Richard S. Ehrlich

The Department of Justice seals is seen during a news conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

U.S. expatriate charged with threatening to kill GOP senators, staffers over junk email

By Jeff Mordock - The Washington Times

Leader of Move Forward Party Pita Limjaroenrat, left, waves after signing a memorandum of understanding on attempt to form a coalition government between Move Forward Party and other parties during a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, May 22, 2023. Move Forward won the most seats in the May 14 election, and it has formed a coalition that seeks to become the government when Parliament selects a prime minister in July. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand’s victorious progressive Move Forward Party, 7 allies agree on coalition platform

By Jintamas Saksornchai - Associated Press