Officials of the Office of Secretariat of the House of Representatives conducted a rehearsal today (Tuesday) of the voting process for the selection of the House speaker, the two deputy House speakers and the new prime minister.

An informed parliamentary source said that the selection of the House speaker and two deputy speakers is expected to take place within the 15 days following the official opening of the new parliamentary session, or around the middle of July.

For the selection of their chosen candidates for the three speaker posts, MPs will cast secret ballots.

The selection of the prime minister, however, will take place during a joint session of MPs and senators. It will be done by a roll-call vote, with each MP or senator approving or not approving the prime ministerial candidate or abstaining from voting.

The candidate must receive at least 376 votes from the joint session to be endorsed as the next prime minister.

Currently, Move Forward party leader Pita Limjaroenrat is the sole prime ministerial candidate. The eight coalition parties command a combined 313 votes in the House and they need at least 63 votes from the senators to secure Pita’s position as Thailand’s next prime minister.