Thai court suspends Pita as lawmaker in parliament over prime minister vote

BANGKOK, July 19 (Reuters) – Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday ordered a temporary suspension of would-be prime minister Pita Limjaroenrat as a lawmaker, making his announcement as parliament convened for what could be his last chance to become prime minister.

The court decision came after accepting a case alleging that Pita, leader of the election-winning Move Forward party, was not qualified to run in the May 14 election because he held shares in a media company, in violation of electoral rules.

The 42-year-old American-educated liberal Pita lost his initial bid for prime minister in a parliamentary vote last week and needs the backing of more than half of the bicameral parliament to become the next prime minister.

He must overcome fierce resistance from rivals who disagree with his party’s anti-establishment ambitions, including a royalist army that appointed members of the Senate who denied Pita in your initial offer.

It was not immediately clear if the court’s announcement would ruin Wednesday’s vote, with lawmakers still debating Pita’s nomination.

Parliamentary rules written by the military after a 2014 coup and skewed in its favor are making it extremely difficult for Pita to form a government with an eight-party alliance that continues to back him.

The court decision, his second active case involving Pita, came as lawmakers debated whether Pita should be allowed to contest a second prime ministerial vote, with political rivals arguing that he had already been rejected.

Pita has argued that he did not break the rules by owning shares in the iTV media company, as he had not been involved in mass media operations for years. He has 15 days to respond to the suspension, the court said in a statement.

Move Forward said the court ruling had no impact on the proceedings.

“According to the law, Pita is still a candidate for prime minister,” he said, urging people to follow the televised debate.

pita has a mountain to climb to become prime minister and Wednesday’s twin challenges from both his political enemies and the court were obstacles he had been waiting for.

In an interview on Tuesday, he told Reuters those moves were “pre-planned” and he questioned the timing, describing the royalist army’s efforts to thwart him as a “broken record”.

Thailand has been in an interim administration since March and it’s been 65 days since the impressive launch of Move Forward electoral triumph by military-backed parties after nine years of rule controlled by generals.

Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Panu Wongcha-um and Chayut Setboonsarng; Written by Martin Petty; Edited by Robert Birsel

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.