The House of Representatives is expected to select a new first deputy House speaker next Wednesday to replace Padipat Suntiphada, who lost his MP status as a result of the Constitutional Court dissolving the Move Forward Party, according to chief government whip Wisut Chainaroon.
Mr Wisut, who is a Pheu Thai Party MP, said the position must be filled by someone from a government party and that the coalition partners would hold talks on the issue.
Bhumjaithai, the second-largest party in the coalition led by Pheu Thai, has made no secret of its desire to have one of its members in the position. But Mr Wisut said there are related matters to be taken into consideration.
“Let’s wait. We’ll get the first deputy House Speaker next week for sure,” he said on Thursday.
Whoever is chosen must be politically neutral, know House regulations by heart and ensure order during House meetings, he said.
Several candidates come to mind, said Mr Wisut, while acknowledging that Paradorn Prissanananthakul, a Bhumjaithai MP for Ang Thong, is thought to possess the required qualifications.
Some critics have said that the check-and-balance system will not function properly if the House Speaker and the two deputies are from the government bloc, but Mr Wisut said: “These positions have nothing to do with scrutiny work. It’s the job of the MPs and the opposition must measure up to it.”
A Bhumjaithai source said on Thursday that the first deputy post should belong to the party unless Pheu Thai wants it. In that case, second deputy Pichet Chuamuangphan, who is a Pheu Thai MP, should move up to become first deputy so that a Bhumjaithai MP can fill the second deputy slot, the source said.
House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, a former Prachachat Party leader, was chosen to end an impasse between Pheu Thai and Move Forward in the early days of their failed attempt to form a coalition after the elections last year. Move Forward subsequently moved to the opposition.
Move Forward had nominated Mr Padipat, an MP for Phitsanulok, for the speaker’s role but he ended up becoming first deputy under the deal.
However, complications arose later when it came time for Move Forward to assume the role of lead party in the opposition. The main opposition party is barred from having one of its members as a House speaker or deputy. Mr Padipat arranged to be “expelled” from Move Forward — he later joined the Fair Party — in order to keep the deputy speaker’s role.
Even though he was no longer a Move Forward MP, he was a party executive during the period covered by this week’s Constitutional Court ruling that dissolved Move Forward and banned 11 executives from political activity for 10 years.
A by-election is expected to be called soon to fill his vacant seat in Phitsanulok.