The Facts
Thai House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha on Thursday put off the next prime ministerial vote from Friday after the Constitutional Court — citing the need for careful consideration — postponed until Aug. 16 the ruling on Pita Limjaroenrat's renomination rejection.
Three months after Pita's Move Forward Party won the most seats in elections, Thailand has yet to form a new government as Pita was voted down in parliament by the military-appointed Senate and later denied a second vote.
The Spin
Narrative A
While it was surely a controversial decision, the decision not to consider Pita as a candidate for the second round of voting for premiership has a strong legal basis given that his renomination would violate Article 41 of Thailand's Regulations of the Parliamentary Assembly (2020), which states that a motion that has been rejected cannot be reintroduced unless the House Speaker allows it.
Narrative B
Given that the Constitution prevails over parliamentary rule 41, the prime ministerial selection process must be governed by sections 159 and 272 of the Constitution. Thereby, the Constitutional Court must overturn parliament's rejection of Pita's renomination as a prime ministerial candidate as it is blatantly unconstitutional.
