Executives of the opposition People’s Party will meet again on Wednesday after a gathering of MPs on Tuesday failed to reach an agreement on which candidate to support as Thailand’s next prime minister.
Party spokesman Parit Wacharasindhu emerged around 5.30pm to confirm the news and deny a number of online reports that said the party had decided to back the Bhumjaithai Party and its leader, Anutin Charnvirakul.
At the same time, Mr Parit issued a direct challenge to the caretaker Pheu Thai government, urging it to immediately dissolve the House.
“We are calling on Pheu Thai to make a decision today — either dissolve the House or we will decide who should be the next prime minister,” he said outside party headquarters at the Future Forward Building.
The People’s Party has said it would support the formation of a new government only on condition that it dissolve the House by the end of this year and hold a referendum on the drafting of a new constitution.
“We’re not stalling our decision,” Mr Parit said. “We have been calling for the dissolution of parliament consistently in the past two months. If that call is still not answered by the caretaker prime minister [on Wednesday], we will proceed to make a decision to choose whatever is the least risky option.”
Legal issues
Pheu Thai spent much of Tuesday debating whether a caretaker government or prime minister can dissolve the House and pave the way for an election. The Council of State, the government’s legal adviser, is of the opinion that this can’t be done.
“What we are trying to do is to provide the best solution for the country,” Matichon quoted Pheu Thai secretary-general Sorawong Thienthong as saying. “This matter falls under the authority of the acting prime minister (Phumtham Wechayachai). The procedures involved will take time.”
The party’s intention is not to pressure coalition partners or provoke conflict in Parliament. “We believe the best solution is to return power to the people,” he told reporters. “This is not a threat — it’s a responsible decision made with caution.”
Mr Sorawong later clarified that Pheu Thai had not taken any steps to begin the process of seeking dissolution, stressing only that it was an option.
The Pheu Thai and Bhumjaithai parties are both seeking the opposition party’s backing for their respective prime ministerial candidates, Chaikasem Nitisiri and Mr Anutin.
The largest bloc in Parliament with 143 seats, the People’s Party has become the kingmaker in the formation of the next government following the Constitutional Court’s dismissal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra from the premiership last Friday.
Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut arrived at headquarters at 9.30am Tuesday for a second straight day of deliberations, going in via the rear entrance to avoid the large media presence at the front. Deputy leader Picharn Chaowapattanawong and secretary-general Sarayut Jailak arrived earlier, entering discreetly through the same rear access.
The party held its weekly executive and MPs’ meeting in the afternoon, focusing on consolidating feedback gathered from members nationwide. Although only 90 MPs were present due to prior commitments with parliamentary committees and constituency duties, others submitted their concerns and observations via internal channels.
The party also opened feedback lines through its broadcast system, including Line OA and SMS, to gather input from members across the country.
Over the past two days, the party has actively gathered input from its nationwide network, including more than 100,000 members. So far, over 20,000 responses had been received, MP Pakornwut Udompipatsakul told reporters.
“No direction has been chosen yet,” he said.
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People’s Party members gather party at headquarters in the Future Forward building in Bangkok on Tuesday.
