The parliament president has advised the Move Forward Party to shelve its request for the parliament to review last week's rejection of the renomination of its leader Pita Limjaroenrat for prime minister, pending a court ruling.
House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, who is ex-officio parliament president, said on Wednesday the MFP should wait for the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the Ombudsman's petition for a ruling on the joint sitting's resolution, pushed through with the backing of appointed senators.
The Constitutional Court’s ruling would have an effect on the parliament and all concerned, he said.
Mr Wan also said that his decision to postpone indefinitely the parliament’s next vote to select a prime minister, which had been scheduled for Thursday, was free of any political motive.
He made the decision because the Constitutional Court had still to consider the petition from the Office of the Ombudsman, which also asked for a postponement of the vote.
If the court does not accept the matter for consideration, Mr Wan said, he could set a date for the next parliamentary vote right away.
Mr Pita failed to win a majority vote from both the House and the Senate to become prime minister on July 13.
He was renominated to a joint sitting on July 19 but the joint sitting rejected it on procedural grounds. Opponents argued it was in violation of parliamentary regulation 41, which prohibits the resubmission of a failed motion during the same parliamentary session.
Mr Pita's supporters and many academics disagreed with the parliament's resolution on July 19, arguing that regulation 41 applies to general business, not the prime ministerial nomination, and asked the Constitutional Court through the Ombudsman to rule on the legality of Mr Pita's renomination.
