The Pheu Thai Party did not ask the Move Forward Party (MFP) to back down on its intention to amend Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law, at their meeting on Wednesday, the party says.
Pheu Thai on Wednesday announced the highly-anticipated disintegration of the eight-party alliance led by the MFP.
MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon said Pheu Thai never asked his party to backtrack on the lese majeste change, a major sticking point in forming the coalition. Pheu Thai, however, has said many times previously the decision should be MFP's own, and it had refused to budge.
At Wednesday's announcement, Pheu Thai — which had been handed the right to lead in forming a new government after MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat failed to win enough support — said the MFP's unyielding stance on amending the lese majeste law stood in the way of Pheu Thai's pursuit of a successful coalition government.
Most appointed senators insisted they would continue to either vote against or abstain from voting for Mr Pita so long as the MFP refused to backtrack on its proposed amendment of Section 112. The stance was shared by 188 MPs of the former coalition government parties which also declared they would not join a government led by Pheu Thai with the MFP in it.
In a statement read by Pheu Thai leader Dr Cholnan Srikaew on Wednesday, the party said the MFP’s position on the lese majeste law was the main reason several parties voted against or withdrew their support for the MFP. The MFP was well aware of the obstacle but insisted on continuing with this policy, the statement said.
Mr Chaithawat, meanwhile, said Pheu Thai did not ask the MFP to vote for Srettha Thavisin, who is poised to be nominated as prime minister in parliament on Friday.
Apologising to supporters for failing to form a new coalition with Pheu Thai and six other parties, Mr Chaithawat vowed the MFP would fight until the end for equality — even as an opposition party. “What happened is clear evidence of the distortion of Thai politics — that the highest power does not belong to the people. From now on, we’re on a mission to fight for change,” Mr Chaithawat said.
The MFP will decide at a party meeting whether it will vote for Pheu Thai’s PM candidate on Friday, he said. MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who is in hospital for treatment of influenza, has been informed about Pheu Thai’s decision to ditch the MFP.
Rangsiman Rome, MFP list-MP and party spokesman, told a group of MFP supporters who protested at Pheu Thai’s head office on Wednesday that the effort to form an MFP-led coalition government proved futile. “I thought we had tied the knot and registered our marriage. The MoU (signed by all eight parties) was equivalent to a marriage certificate. As it turns out, it’s a divorce," he said. “It pains me to see people’s dreams turn sour. They were so close to coming true.”
