Thailand high court suspends PM candidate Pita Limjaroenrat, to rule on election law violation

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Reuters noted. However, he faces strong opposition from the military, which is at odds with his party's anti-establishment aspirations.

As reported by Reuters, the parliamentary regulations, established by the military following a coup in 2014, were designed in a way that favoured the military's interests. These rules resulted in Pita's initial defeat in the first round, where he faced opposition from a Senate appointed by generals who have aligned themselves with conservative factions and influential old money families that have traditionally held sway over Thailand's democratic system.

Ahead of Wednesday's session, Pita posted a message on Twitter asking senators to apply the same principles they did in 2019, when they voted for the candidate of a military-backed coalition that held a majority of House seats, AP noted. Pita further accused some senators of using the controversial claim that he is undermining the monarchy as an excuse to reject his candidacy, when their actual reason is that they feel their own interests are threatened by his party's broader reform agenda.

Pita is not guaranteed to get another chance at securing a needed majority in a combined vote of the House of Representatives and the Senate. There first needs to be a ruling on whether he can legally receive a second nomination for the prime minister's post, which is not clear.