The Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) has issued an order prohibiting public gatherings around parliament, effective from 8am on Monday to midnight on Thursday.
The order, signed by MPB chief Thiti Saengsawang, under the 2015 Public Gatherings Act, came after parliament was scheduled to vote for a new prime minister on Tuesday, said a source.
The planned gatherings during the parliamentary vote will affect peace and order, the source said. The MPB’s order bans gathering within a 50-metre radius of the parliament complex, from 8am on Aug 21 to midnight on Aug 24.
On Friday, parliament president Wan Muhamad Noor Matha said that the joint sitting of the House and Senate to vote for the country’s 30th prime minister on Tuesday would start at 10am, with five hours allocated for lawmakers to debate – two hours for senators and three hours for MPs. The vote is expected to start at 3pm and finish by 5.30pm.
The Pheu Thai Party as the head of the coalition is expected to nominate Mr Srettha, the former chief executive of the property developer Sansiri Plc.