Coalition Parties Confident That Pita Has Numbers To Become PM

Move Forward Party (MFP) deputy leader Sirikanya Tansakun reaffirmed her party's claims that they have the numbers to get their leader Pita Limjaroenrat installed as Prime Minister, even as several Senators pulled their support. She dismissed claims by one of the more conservative Senators, who suggested that Pita could count on the votes of less than 10 members of the military-appointed upper house (he needs at least 64 senatorial votes to become Prime Minister).

• According to Thai Enquirer, Sirikanya expressed confidence that Pita could be elected Prime Minister in the first round of voting, citing her discussions with multiple Senators. She suggested that many of them confirmed their voting intentions to the MFP but have not made them public.
• Meanwhile, election runner-up Pheu Thai's PM candidate Srettha Thavisin argued that Pita should be given a revote if he fails to be elected PM in the first round. He echoed Sirikanya's confidence that the Pita could become the next PM and also played down claims that senatorial support for Pita is in single digits.
• The joint houses of parliament will vote on the PM on July 13. Newly elected Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said that a potential second round would take place on July 19. Candidates may be nominated by parties who have 25 or more MPs (MFP, Pheu Thai, Bhumjaithai, Palang Pracharath, UTN, Democrat) and need the endorsement of at least 50 MPs.
• The MFP-led coalition are hoping that Senators will bow under pressure and respect Pita's strong democratic mandate. However, if elected PM, he would still face legal challenges which could complicate his efforts to rule the country. If Pita fails in several rounds of voting, Pheu Thai could be approached by pro-military parties with a unity government offer, but there is broad understanding that this would entail significant reputational costs for the party.