Thai King presides over opening ceremony for parliament

King Maha Vajiralongkorn (Source:  Bangkok Post)

The King and Queen of Thailand on May 24 presided over the opening ceremony of the new parliament following the March 24 election.

In his opening remarks, King Maha Vajiralongkorn called on all parliaments to perform the best of their duty with responsibility for the benefits of the public and the country in order to move Thailand forward.

The ceremony was followed by the opening of the Senate to select the upper house speaker and his or her deputies. The first meeting of the House of Representatives will be held on May 25 to choose the House speaker and vice speakers.

On March 14, Royal Gazette released the list of 250 senators approved by the royal family. All the senators will vote along with those from the House of Representatives to select a new Prime Minister.

The Thai House of Representatives is comprised of 500 seats with a four-year tenure.

According to the election results on March 24, the Pheu Thai Party won 136 seats, the People’s State Power Party (Palang Pracharath Party) held 115 seats, 80 others were for Future Forward Party, 52 for Democrat Party, and 51 for Bhumjaithai Party. 

The new PM must garner a minimum of 376 out of 750 votes in the parliament meeting.

VNA