The Democrat Party should join hands with the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) because the latter received the most support among all of the parties that contested Sunday's general election, Democrat veteran Thaworn Senneam said on Thursday.
Mr Thaworn, who claims he won the poll in Songkhla, said the matter will be decided by the party's executive board and that he would respect its decision.
He said the party should form an alliance with the PPRP, which drew more than 8.4 million votes according to the unofficial results released by the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday.
Speaking after a meeting with almost 30 Democrat members to discuss the aftermath of the election, Mr Thaworn said the group agreed the party's new board and winning candidates should have a say in what the party does moving forward.
The party members are believed to be divided over whether the Democrats should partner with the PPRP, which has nominated Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as its prime ministerial candidate, or if it should serve as an opposition party.
Mr Thaworn said pressing issues need to be thrashed out. One is the question of whether the Democrat candidates who failed to win in their respective constituencies should also have a say in deciding if the party should join the PPRP. Votes cast for losing candidates also count toward the party-list seats made available for the Democrat Party.
The Democrat heavyweight said he would propose to the board that party regulations be revised to allow former party MPs to take part in the selection of executives. He also recommended suspending the nomination process to select a new party leader to avoid any internal rifts.
"At this point, the situation isn't in favour of us going through with the leader nomination process. I think a new leader should be able to create unity and reform the party," he said.
A fresh leadership election is required following the resignation of Abhisit Vejjajiva as party leader. Mr Thaworn said no one had approached him to discuss forming a coalition government.
However, Nat Badtadtan, the former Democrat MP for Bangkok, issued a Facebook post on Thursday stating that he saw no reason to justify an alliance with the PPRP.