Thailand’s two main opposition parties yesterday agreed to form a ruling coalition after they trounced in a weekend election military-backed rivals that have controlled government for nearly a decade.
The Move Forward party and opposition heavyweight Pheu Thai dominated Sunday’s ballot in a rout of army-backed parties, but could face challenges in mustering enough support to be voted in as prime minister, with parliamentary rules drafted by the military after a 2014 coup skewed in favor of its allies.
Their alliance would need to ensure its efforts to form a new government would not be stymied by a junta-appointed senate, which gets to vote on a prime minister in a bicameral sitting of the 750-member legislature, and has a record of favoring conservative parties led by generals.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Pita Limjaroenrat, Move Forward’s 42-year-old leader, proposed an alliance of six parties that would command 309 seats. That would be short of the 376 seats needed to ensure he is elected as prime minister.
Asked about the senate, he said all sides must respect the election outcome and there was no use going against it.
“I am not worried, but I am not careless,” he told a news conference.
“It will be quite a hefty price to pay if someone is thinking about debunking the election result or forming a minority government,” he said.
Pheu Thai, controlled by the billionaire Shinawatra family, said it agreed with Pita’s proposal and wished him luck in efforts to become prime minister.
The party had won most seats in every election this century, including twice in landslides, but met its match against Move Forward as it came close to a sweep of the capital, Bangkok, and made gains in rivals’ strongholds.
“Pheu Thai has no plan to form any other government,” party leader Chonlanan Srikaew told a news conference.
Although the results appear to be a hammer blow for the military and its allies, with parliamentary rules on their side and some influential power-brokers behind them, they could determine the shape of a new government.
Move Forward was galvanized by a wave of excitement among the youth over its liberal agenda and promises of bold changes, including breaking up monopolies and reforming a law on insulting the monarchy.
Pita yesterday did a victory lap in Bangkok where thousands of supporters had gathered — some in the streets, others on rooftops — dressed in Move Forward’s signature orange color and chanting “Prime Minister Pita.”
Pita has said Move Forward would press ahead with its plan to amend strict lese majeste laws against insulting the monarchy, which critics say have been used to stifle free speech.
Thailand’s palace does not comment on the law or its use.
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’