Military-appointed senators have been coming under pressure from civil society groups after some vowed not to vote for Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the Move Forward Party, to become the next prime minister of Thailand.

The senators in question have said that their stance against Pita is because of his anti-establishment position, declared publicly before the election.

Pita is in the process of forming a coalition government with Pheu Thai and some smaller parties, which could amass a voting bloc of 310 votes in parliament. Pita needs 376 members of a joint sitting to vote for him to become prime minister, meaning that he would need 66 military-appointed senators to vote for him.

The Rural Doctor Society, a non-governmental organisation, issued a statement on Monday calling for MPs and senators to respect the voters’ choice, demonstrated in the May 14^th general election.

It said that the results of the election clearly reflect Thai people’s intentions to change the country and it was an important sign of democratic progress.

The society called on MPs of all political parties and the 250 senators to write democratic history by voting for Pita.

Selecting Pita as the new prime minister would be an important step in moving beyond long standing conflicts in the country and voting for him would be a display of respect for the intention and hopes of the voters, it said.