Winning party in Thai election excluded from coalition
The reformist party that won Thailand's general election was on Wednesday excluded from a coalition trying to form a government, as lawmakers seek a way around resistance from military and pro-royalist senators. The Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats in May's election, riding a wave of support from young and urban Thais weary of almost a decade of army-backed rule, but it fell well short of a majority. An eight-party coalition, including MFP's closest rival, Pheu Thai, was not enough to get its leader Pita Limjaroenrat elected prime minister, leaving the kingdom in political deadlock. Harvard-educated Pita, 42, was blocked from the top job by the senate – whose members were handpicked by the last junta – because of his determination to reform Thailand's tough royal defamation laws. After weeks of backroom haggling, Pheu Thai leader Chonlanan Srikaew announced that MFP was out of the coalition. "The formation of the new government will not include MFP," he told reporters. "Pheu Thai will work to get enough votes, MFP will be in opposition, and we will work in a new dimension that is beneficial to the people." The party will now put forward property tycoon Srettha Thavisin as its candidate to become prime minister, Chonlanan said. Pheu Thai is seen as a vehicle for the Shinawatra political clan, whose members include two former prime ministers ousted by military coups in 2006 and 2014. To become prime minister, a candidate must be approved by a majority of both houses of parliament – the 500 elected MPs and the 250 senators appointed under the last junta. Pita managed 324 votes across the two houses in the first vote in parliament, with only 13 senators supporting him. He was blocked from running in a second ballot and suspended as an MP by the Constitutional Court over his ownership of media shares, which is prohibited for lawmakers under Thai law. (AFP)