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Thai Parliament to Meet Again in August to Choose PM


FILE - Lawmaker gather at the Parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, July 19, 2023.
FILE - Lawmaker gather at the Parliament in Bangkok, Thailand, July 19, 2023.

Thailand's parliament said Thursday it is scheduled to meet again on August 4 to try to pick a prime minister, as a political stalemate drags on following a national election in May.

Two previous attempts by the election-winning Move Forward Party to have its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, endorsed as premier have been blocked by conservative and military-nominated lawmakers.

The Pheu Thai Party, which placed second in May and is part of an eight-party alliance with Move Forward, is expected to make the next bid for the office.

Voters in Southeast Asia's second largest economy propelled Move Forward to a surprise election victory over military-backed rivals who have dominated its politics for most of the last decade.

But the military-nominated Senate and opponents from the conservative, royalist establishment have pushed back against Pita, stalling his attempts to become prime minister.

A parliamentary document outlining its agenda for August 4 said the house would "consider and endorse a suitable individual to become prime minister."

However, the vote could be delayed because of a pending court review of a previous decision, House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha told reporters in parliament before the agenda was released.

Thailand's Constitutional Court is due to review a petition next Thursday over a decision earlier this month to block Pita's candidacy for the top job.

If the court accepts the petition, the following day's parliamentary vote would be postponed, Wan Noor said.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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