Bangkok: Leaders of six of the seven Thai parties met, here on Wednesday, to sign a joint declaration on common plan to form a coalition government following Sunday’s election. They claimed to have support of 255 MP seats and planned to form a coalition government, reported Xinhua news agency, adding a few others might join in at a later date. The Pheu Thai (for Thais) Party, which has reportedly won 137 MP seats, is practically justified to become core of the planned coalition government, endorsed by 255 MPs who will obviously make a majority in the 500-member House of Representatives, said Sudarat Keyuraphan, head of the party’s strategic campaign team.
The seven parties include, the Pheu Thai Party (137 MP seats), the Future Forward Party (88 MP seats), the Thai Liberal Party (12 MP seats), the Prachachart (people’s nation) Party (7 MP seats), the New Economics Party (6 MP seats), the Pheu Chart (for country) Party (5 MP seats) and the Palang Puangchon Thai (power of Thai people) Party with one MP seat, according to Pheu Thai secretary general Phumtham Wechayachai.
They also urged Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to dump his alleged design to head a minority coalition government with the Palang Pracharath (power of people’s state) Party, which has reportedly won 116 MP seats, as its core. The election of the Prime Minister in Parliament needs a simple majority among the 750 lawmakers, comprising 500 MPs and 250 senators, in accordance with the 2017 Constitution.
Meanwhile, leaders of six parties and other executive party members visited the Election Commission’s (EC) headquarters on Wednesday and pressed for prompt announcement of results of Sunday’s polls in all constituencies to make it clear for parties to see exactly how many MP seats they have made. So far, the EC has only announced unofficial results of 95 per cent of the votes, prompting parties to urge the poll panel to perform in accurate, transparent and just fashion.
