Prachachat party leader Wan Muhamad Noor Matha revealed on Monday that he has not yet officially been informed that Pheu Thai will nominate him for House speaker.
He said he does not want the position, because he wishes to remain the Prachachat party leader and he has already taken that and other important political positions.
He added, however, that, if Pheu Thai really wants him to do the job and Move Forward approves of with the decision, he will do it for the sake of democracy and to end the tussle between two major coalition parties.
“If Pheu Thai really resolves to nominate me, I am willing to accept the nomination, but we have to listen to the opinions of Move Forward and the people. If the people agree, I am happy to work for them, although it will be the last time in my political life.”
Move Forward and Pheu Thai have been in conflict over the position, as the former wants to take both the premiership and the House speakership, while the latter believes that it has more appropriate for an experienced MP to be the House speaker.
Political analysts believe that Wan Muhamad is impartial and the best choice to end the conflict between the parties.
Wan Muhamad is a former House Speaker, former deputy premier, two-time Transportation minister, former Agriculture and Cooperatives minister and Interior minister. He was elected to Parliament 11 times and has been very involved in solving the violence in the southernmost provinces of Thailand.
He was the first Muslim MP to occupy the position of House speaker, between 1996 and 2000.
Move Forward’s secretary general Chaithawat Tulathon, meanwhile, declined to comment on a report that the Pheu Thai party is set to nominate Wan Muhamad as its candidate for the House speakership.
He told reporters to wait for the joint press conference tonight (Monday) between his party and Pheu Thai. The latest reports say that the press conference will be held at the Lancaster Hotel at 8pm.
Move Forward will reportedly nominate of Padipat Suntiphada, 42, two-time MP for Phitsanuloke province, for the House speakership.
It is still not clear whether both major coalition parties will agree to nominate Wan Muhamad as the sole candidate for the position or separately nominate their own choices during the first sitting of Parliament tomorrow.
