Since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1934, the army has created a Constitution whose purpose is to allow it to keep power, or to pull the strings.
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The progressive MP, Pita Limaroenrat, who surprisingly won the elections in May, is having difficulty being elected Prime Minister of Thailand by the National Assembly. The electoral commission has just recommended his suspension for suspicion of irregularities. It is followed in its recommendations by the Constitutional Court which will study the file. The vote of senators and deputies for the appointment of this new Prime Minister should normally take place on Thursday July 13.
The Move Forward Party, the pet peeve of power
Pita Limaroenrat, whom everyone calls Pita, was born in 1981. He is a rather elegant young man who has been leading the Move forward party for several years. This pro-democracy party is the bane of the power in place and in particular of the soldiers who lock the country. The party was already dissolved for the first time in 2019 before reforming under this new name. Pita is initially a businessman from a wealthy family. He was educated in the United States. Talented and a reformer, he expressed himself clearly and implanted himself in the hearts of rural people as well as in those of the country’s youth. It must be said that it offers a modern image of society with attractive measures such as the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes, the end of compulsory military service or even marriage for all.
He finally masters communication 2.0. Present on social networks, he is followed by more than a million people who each of his appearances ovation him like a pop-star. We can, for example, see him in a kind of supermarket greeting the crowd by making a heart with his fingers.
The country’s democratic future at stake
Power wants to do everything to prevent him from governing. The country has nevertheless experienced a dozen successful coups d’etat since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1934. The army has created an impossible Constitution whose purpose is to allow it to keep power, or in any case to draw the strings even if it does not govern directly. To block his way, the electoral commission considered that there were enough elements to transmit to the Constitutional Court a file of suspicions of irregularity. Pita’s party is accused of having owned shares in a television channel during the campaign, in contravention of the law.
Thailand finds itself again at a decisive moment and the days ahead are likely to be crucial. This is what the young leader suggests, explaining that what is at stake is quite simply the democratic future of the country. Finally, you should know that to be elected, Pita can count on the 151 seats won by his party in the last elections. He will also have to form an alliance with six other pro-democracy parties which have elected members in parliament. And if the moment is decisive for Thailand, it is above all because during the last elections the turnout was 75%. Suffice to say that it will still be difficult to ignore the choice of Thais to want change for their country.