Reformist Pita Limjaroenrat, winner of the legislative elections in Thailand, lost the vote in parliament on Thursday to become prime minister, senators loyal to the army having rejected his candidacy deemed too radical, despite the risk of new massive demonstrations, in a fractured kingdom .
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, mired in a cycle of political crises, is going through a period of instability, two months after elections that dealt a crushing setback to the generals in power since the 2014 coup.
Winner of the legislative elections under the banner of Move Forward, Pita Limjaorenrat comes up against the system controlled by the conservative royalist elites, who blame him for his legal troubles and his project to revise the law on lèse-majesté.
The defeat of the progressive candidate, the face of political renewal among the youngest, revives the scenario of major demonstrations, palpable around the parliament protected by an important security device.
Despite the support of a majority coalition in the lower house (312 deputies out of 500), Pita did not obtain the sixty votes of senators he needed to reach the required threshold of 375 votes.
While the vote was underway, more than half of voters chose to vote against or abstain, according to an AFP count, leaving no chance for MP Move Forward, the only declared candidate for the moment. , to be able to reach the necessary majority.
The senators, appointed by the military, ignored Move Forward’s calls to form a government in accordance with the will of the people that would put Thailand back on the path to democracy.
“This is not a vote on me or Move Forward, but a vote to give Thailand a chance to return to normality,” Mr. Pita pleaded to voters before the opening of the vote.
Legal proceedings
Telegenic, smiling, at ease in English, he personifies at 42 the break desired by young people, who took to the streets by the thousands in 2020 to demand a major overhaul of the monarchy.
New Constitution, abolition of compulsory military service, legalization of marriage for all, opening of certain markets… Its renovation program aims to turn the page of almost a decade under the authority of the former putschist general Prayut Chan-O -Cha, who has seen fundamental freedoms recede and the economy stagnate.
But this activity has exposed Move Forward and its leader to legal action. Those concerned felt that these were aimed at diverting them from power.
Pita Limjaroenrat is charged in two separate cases, which pose the threat of disqualification like a sword of Damocles hanging over his head.
The president of the electoral commission recommended a suspension of his parliamentary functions, because of shares that he had in a television channel at the time of the campaign.
The deputy, who defends himself against any illegal maneuver, risks the loss of his parliamentary seat, a prison sentence and banishment from political life for 20 years.
In another case, the Constitutional Court declared admissible the complaint of a lawyer accusing Mr. Pita and Move Forward of wanting to “overthrow” the monarchy.
The question of the king’s place in society occupied the discussions in the hemicycle, around the controversial law repressing lèse-majesté, one of the most severe in the world of this type.
Move Forward defends, alone, a reform of the text, whose vague wording leaving room for interpretation has been diverted for political purposes to silence any challenge, according to rights groups.
The conservative camp refuses any modification of this symbol, in the name of the untouchable status of the king, considered as a quasi-divinity.
” Harassment “
Deputies and senators will meet as many times as necessary, with the possibility that a candidate deemed more consensual, from another party, wins the post.
The powerful opposition movement Pheu Thai, which came second in the votes and which rallied to Move Forward, has the possibility of presenting one of its leaders: Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of the former prime minister in exile Thaksin Shinawatra , or businessman Srettha Thavisin.
Thailand, which has experienced a dozen successful coups since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932, is used to political crises, sometimes punctuated by violence.
Barbed wire, containers to block access… A large security system criss-crosses the surroundings of the parliament, surrounded by barricades.
In the afternoon, under strong heat, about 100 to 200 people dressed in orange, the color of Move Forward, gathered near the building under high surveillance.
The lawsuits against Mr. Pita amount to “harassment”, launched Supattra Namthongchai, 59, who went to encourage his champion in front of parliament.
“We Thais have the right to express our opinions since we are a democracy. We can come together to protest,” added Patchaya Saelim, 17, another supporter of the reform movement.