Government and opposition whips are scheduled to meet at 3pm this afternoon to set the date for the vote to select a new interim prime minister, who will be in the office for just four months to prepare for a snap general election and to hold a referendum on the drafting of a new Constitution.
Deputy House Speaker Chalard Karmchuang said today, that the whips’ meeting had been postponed until this afternoon because the House of Representatives had been waiting for a reply from the Constitutional Court over a petition from a group of 20 Pheu Thai MPs, challenging the legitimacy of the court’s 6:3 ruling on August 29 to remove Paetongtarn Shinawatra as prime minister for gross ethical misconduct.
The MP group claimed that the term of one of the nine judges, Panya Udchachon, had already expired by August 29th, when the court sat to deliver its decision on Paetongtarn. His replacement, Sarawut Songsivilai, was royally appointed on August 30th.
Chalard said that he does not expect the court to take long considering whether to accept the MPs’ petition.
He also said that the vote for the new prime minister is likely take place on Friday at the earliest, if the court rejects the MPs’ petition.
The Bhumjaithai party and its allies, as well as the opposition People party, will vote in support of Anutin Charnvirakul as the new prime minister, after the Bhumjaithai party agreed to accept the preconditions set by the People party for its support.
