Reformist frontrunner faces hurdles as Thai MPs pick new PM

Bangkok, July 13 (AFP/APP):Thailand’s parliament opened Thursday to vote for a prime minister, with frontrunner Pita Limjaroenrat insisting he was confident of victory despite a barrage of last-minute hurdles that could undo his premiership bid.
                 
It is a pivotal moment in the aftermath of his progressive party’s shock May election success, with fears for renewed political instability in a country that has seen more than a dozen military coups in the last century.
                 
To win, Pita needs support from at least some members of the country’s more established parties and junta-appointed senators, who were spooked by his Move Forward Party’s (MFP) victory and horrified by its plans to amend the kingdom’s strict royal defamation laws.
                 
Further complicating his path to top office, Pita faces the threat of parliamentary suspension, in one of two cases that have been filed against him and his party.
                 
He was nonetheless bullish ahead of Thursday’s session, where lawmakers will debate for long hours before beginning to cast their votes.
                 
“I am confident in myself that I will work with my full capacity to respond to people’s hopes and the support that they gave to me,” Pita told reporters ahead of the session opening.
                 
By early afternoon, a couple of hundred Pita supporters gathered along the streets outside parliament.
                 
Suppatra Namthongchai, 59, told AFP the cases brought against Pita and his party just ahead of the vote looked like “bullying”.
                 
“Why did you decide to do it yesterday… this is you bullying him — that is how people view this,” she said.
                 
Patchaya Saelim, 17, said he was unhappy that police had set up shipping containers — covered in images of Thai tourist sites — to keep protesters away.
                 
“We’re a democratic country. We can gather to protest,” he said.