His announcement came after the political party for which he served as a prime minister candidate this year finished fifth in May’s general election, capturing just 36 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.
Prayuth, 69, a former army commander, made the announcement on the Facebook page of Ruam Thai Sang Chart, or the United Thai Nation Party. He had been their nominee to return as prime minister.
Parliament on Thursday is due to select a new prime minister. The nominee from the top-running, progressive Move Forward Party who has assembled a majority coalition of eight parties with 312 seats in the Lower House, must win a majority vote of at least 376 of the combined vote of the House and the non-elected Senate, which has 250 members. Because of political differences with the conservative Senate, it is uncertain that the party’s leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, can get approved.
After serving as prime minister in the unelected military government that came to power in the 2014 coup, Prayuth was returned to the job after the 2019 election as a candidate of the army-backed Palang Pracharath Party. Prime ministers do not need to be Members of Parliament, and Prayuth didn’t contest the polls in 2019 or this year.
Had Prayuth been returned to office this year, he would only have been able to serve two more years under constitutional term limits. He was already one of Thailand’s longest-serving prime ministers.
Source: https://apnews.com
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