Srettha elected as 30th Prime Minister of Thailand.
The latest joint sitting of the House and the Senate took place on 21 August 2023. Srettha Thavisin from the Pheu Thai Party has been elected the 30th prime minister of Thailand. He secured 482 votes while 165 voted against Srettha and 81 abstentions. Inside the parliament, there are 500 elected house representatives and 249 appointed senators. Srettha needed 375 votes to secure his position as PM. Out of the number, 728 members were present in the chamber to vote. It has taken 100 days for Thailand to finally have a new PM after the latest election and a long journey with the main focus on Move Forward Party and Pheu Thai Party.
Srettha secured 482 votes, out of which 330 are from MPs and 152 from the senators. He had 164 against votes out of which 152 were representatives and 12 senators. There are 81 abstentions from 13 MPs and 68 senators. To no surprise, most of the against votes come from the Move Forward Party members. They won the election on 14 May 2023 but Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of the party did not get the majority vote. Out of all the senators, only 13 voted for him in the meeting that took place on 13 July 2023. Following the July meeting, the Move Forward Party handed the task of forming a new government to the Pheu Thai Party.
Cholnan Srikaew the leader of the Pheu Thai party nominated Srettha as their main PM candidate. Srettha is also known as a property tycoon, bringing up debate in the parliament about his qualifications. These debates often focus on allegations relating to doubtful land purchases by Sansiri, a property-developing company that took place while Srettha was the company’s chief executive. Cholnan stated to the media that the party recognizes allegations placed against them. Mainly from the famous whistleblower Chuvit Kamolvisit. The party’s legal team has been working on it and so far no evidence proving Srettha broke the law has been found. Sansiri stated all purchases were made according to the law.
FB Caption: Srettha secured 482 votes out of 728 members that were present in the meeting.
Source: Khaosod, Bangkok Post
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