Thai social media is seeing the hashtag #เมียน้อยสว (senator’s mistress) trending, calling on people to gather information on senators’ extramarital affairs.
The calls are to focus on senators who voted against and abstained from voting for Move Forward party leader Pita Limjaroenrat as the next prime minister last Thursday.
The hashtag was used more than 500,000 times, fewer than half the over one million uses of #ธุรกิจสว (senator’s business), a call to boycott businesses related to senators and their families.
While the latest hashtag has not produced much information on senators’ extramarital dalliances, a number of brands have reacted to the first one with information on their ownership, as to whether it includes senators and their families. Some senators have vowed to sue anyone who causes damage to their families, while some Move Forward supporters posted online that they believe families should be left alone.
Senator absences and abstentions from voting for Pita on Thursday played a decisive role in preventing him from becoming Thailand’s 30th prime minister.
The final tally of votes in the joint sitting was 324 for Pita, 182 against and 199 abstentions. Over 30 senators did not show up.
