The Constitutional Court has dismissed a petition accusing House speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha of attempting to topple the democratic system by negating Move Forward party leader Pita Limjaroenrat’s renomination for prime minister.
The petition was lodged by Bandhit Poomthip, asking the court to rule whether the action by the Speaker, to order a vote during a joint sitting of the House and Senate on July 19 to determine whether Pita’s renomination, was against parliamentary rule 41.
Bandhit accused the House speaker of abusing his authority in a way which was deemed, by the petitioner, to be an attempt to topple the democratic system in the country.
The court ruled that there was no factual or documentary evidence to prove that Wan Muhamad intended to do as alleged by the petitioner and, by a unanimous vote, the court agreed not to accept the petition for consideration.
Pita first lost his bid to become Thailand’s 30th prime minister on July 13, when his prime ministerial candidacy was approved by 324 votes, most from members of the eight-party coalition alliance and 13 senators. This was, however, short of the minimum 375 votes required.
The Move Forward party sought Pita’s renomination during parliament meeting on July 19. After a lengthy and heated debate on whether renomination was possible under the rules, Wan Muhamad called a vote. 394 MPs and senators voted against the renomination, while 312 voted in favour, with 8 abstentions and one member who did not exercise their right to vote.
