Pita's PM bid crashes on establishment opposition
Thai reformist leader Pita Limjaroenrat's bid to become prime minister ended on Wednesday, despite his party winning the most votes in May elections, after the military and pro-royalist establishment blocked his bid for power. Pita's Move Forward Party (MFP) has ridden high on the support of young and urban Thais frustrated by nearly a decade of army-backed rule, but its efforts to form a government have stumbled. The 42-year-old was dramatically suspended from parliament while seated in the chamber for discussions on his candidacy, which came to an end when lawmakers voted to refuse considering him for a second ballot. "I would like to say goodbye until we meet again," he said, raising his fist as he left the assembly floor to the cheers of party allies. Pita's suspension came when Thailand's Consitutional Court said it would proceed with a case that could see the leader disqualified from parliament altogether for owning shares in a media company. Lawmakers are forbidden from doing so under Thailand's constitution, though the television station in question has not broadcast since 2007. Pita, Harvard-educated and wealthy from a family-run agrifood business, has said the shares were inherited from his father. He has 15 days to respond to the case. After he left the parliament, lawmakers voted by a large margin to rule that he could not be considered for the post a second time. "Pita can't be nominated twice in this parliamentary session," speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said, over howls of protest from within the chamber, immediately before the day's proceedings were called to an end. Dozens of supporters cried and shouted abuse at a large riot police cordon guarding the gates of parliament after news of Pita's suspension broke. Protesters began gathering in the evening for a public rally near Bangkok's Democracy Monument and police said they were prepared for any unrest. "No matter what their opinions are, they need to follow rules and orders set by the police," said Archayon Kraithong, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Police. (AFP)