Thailand: Election Commission recommends PM hopeful Pita Limjaroenrat's suspension as MP; he reacts

Thailand's Election Commission (EC) recommended that Pita Limjaroenrat, a top prime ministerial hopeful, should be suspended as a member of parliament (MP) following the commission's investigation, the news agency AFP reported on Wednesday (July 12) citing chairperson Ittiporn Boonprakong. The commission is set to submit to the Constitutional Court the findings of its investigation into whether Limjaroenrat, a leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP), broke campaign rules.

The move comes just a day before Limjaroenrat is due to contest a vote in parliament on the premiership. He has the support of eight parties in an alliance seeking to form the next government.

"The EC will send a case to the Constitutional Court for ruling," the poll body said. It is not yet clear what the Constitutional Court's ruling will be, should it accept the case, the AFP report said.

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The Election Commission's investigation centres around Pita's ownership of shares in iTV -- which has not been broadcasting in years. And as per Thai election law, politicians are not allowed to hold media company shares. If found guilty, he could be barred from politics while facing up to 10 years in prison.

Limjaroenrat hits out at EC; says in good spirits despite suspension risk

On Wednesday,Limjaroenrat hit out at the Election Commission's action and accused it of abuse of power. In a statement, the MFP said, "The decision to submit a case to the court saying there was enough evidence, without informing him of any charges and not allowing him a chance to explain as under the regulations set by the EC... is an abuse of power under the criminal code."

The PM hopeful also said that he was in good spirits despite facing the risk of being suspended as a lawmaker. He vowed that Thursday's parliamentary vote to decide the next premier would go ahead.

Limjaroenrat eligible to run for PM even if he is suspended as MP

Even if Limjaroenrat is suspended as a lawmaker, he is still eligible to run for prime minister, the report further said.

In the May elections, his MFP won most seats. But despite the victory, Limjaroenrat faces several challenges including the Election Commission investigation.

His alliance together has 312 seats in parliament, but he needs at least 376 votes in a joint sitting of the bicameral legislature.

Last Sunday, the PM hopeful held a huge rally for support in Thailand's capital city of Bangkok to thank the voters.

"What we are asking is just to return common sense to Thai politics because it’s been irregular for quite a decade now after the constitution that was drawn," he said at the time.

"So, we’re not asking for more, we’re not asking for them to vote for me, we’re not asking them to vote for my party, we’re asking them to vote for democracy, for the majority, and return common sense to Thai politics so that we can finally move forward," he said.

"Now that we have come to a critical juncture of the country and then we put our personal differences aside, and then we start talking about the people, we start talking about the opportunities and the crisis that are lying ahead of us and then we're starting to have a closer gap, a closer gap (with the senates," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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