He said political parties have the power to decide whether to nominate non-MPs or MPs as PM candidates.

“When parties announce the PM candidates, a general election is not yet held so how can you be sure that the people you nominate would be elected. If we have the rule that the PM must be an MP but the candidate does not win an MP seat, then how do we deal with that?” he asked. He said public surveys found that people do not mind if the PM is not an elected MP.

“They want capable and good people. We aim to provide political avenues to prevent political impasse,” he said.

He said it was possible that some parties may not win any party-list seats but most parties would put up PM candidates in the party-list system.

Meechai insisted that the CDC’s aim was not to allow a non-elected PM to come to power. “We did not give way for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to become the PM again because he has always said he did not want it,” Meechai added.