A party assembly to change the executive board is expected next month, the source said.

Uttama Savanayana would purportedly step down to give way to Prayut while Sontirat Sontijirawong would continue as the secretary-general.

The move to push Prayut as the party leader is to reportedly transform the general into a full politician and weaken the association with the junta.

Prayut planned to stay in politics for the long term, the source said. Without the party membership, it had also been difficult for the general to help the party campaign and build up popularity.

Prayut’s leadership of Phalang Pracharat was also to resolve the issue with the Sam Mitr or Three Allies group, which is influential in the party. The group had been a stumbling block in recent Cabinet portfolio allocation.

Deputy prime minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, in charge of the government’s legal affairs, said yesterday that Prayut could take the position if he wanted.

However, Wissanu also warned that if anything went wrong, Prayut would inevitably be affected as a party executive.

Led by Pheu Thai and Future Forward parties, they convened on Wednesday for more than three hours and said later they would work inside and outside parliament to keep the government in check.

They said they would propose motions to debate the PM’s and MPs’ qualification and the recruitment of the Senate as well as government policies.

Other items included amendments of the Constitution, they added.

While scrutinising parliament was their major focus, the group also placed importance on campaigning for a better understanding of legislation by the public.

“The seven parties would bring hope to the people as a strong opposition that will scrutinise the government,” said Future Forward Party’s secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul.

“Now, General Prayut Chan-o-cha will actually run the country with a real opposition. So, he can learn how to be a government under democratic rule.”

An opposition whip will be appointed to coordinate the work in addition to a working committee comprising of members from the seven parties.

Pheu Thai’s secretary general said that the small parties will have one member each in the whip. Parties with over five MPs will get two seats while the large parties will get 10, he said.

The election of Pheu Thai’s new head will take place at the end of the month, said the party’s secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai.

It is expected that Chiang Mai MP Sompong Amornvivat will take the post but Phumtham said that the decision will be taken at the next party meeting.

The meeting would also see a change of the party executive board. Phumtham would not say whether he would return as the party’s secretary-general.

Viroj had to step down because he was not an MP while the Constitution demands the leader of the opposition must be the party leader and an MP.

MORE THAN 40 MPs of the pro-junta coalition are being targeted in cases related to media shareholding after their names were submitted to the Constitutional Court yesterday. Meanwhile, the coalition has made little progress in establishing a government even though its only candidate, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, has been named prime minister.

Should these MPs be suspended or disqualified, the pro-junta bloc’s narrow House majority could be undermined and it will find itself unable to pass any legislation in the House of Representatives, including the national budget bill.

House speaker Chuan Leekpai submitted a petition with the Constitutional Court yesterday, asking it to investigate if 41 members of the chamber could have qualification issues.

Of the 41 MPs under investigation, 27 are from Phalang Pracharat, 10 from the Democrat Party and one each from Action Coalition for Thailand, Bhumjaithai, Chartpattana and Prachaphiwat.

The submission follows complaints lodged by Future Forward Party MPs, after their leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, was hit by the same allegations and ordered by the Constitutional Court to take a break from his work as MP until it reaches a conclusion.

The Constitution prohibits MP candidates from holding shares in media companies, and if found guilty, they can be disqualified, face a jail term as well as a fine.

It is now up to the Constitutional Court to decide if it will take up the 41 MPs’ cases, and if it does so, whether it will be consistent in suspending them from Parliament as it did with Thanathorn.

Phalang Pracharat registrar and MP Vichien Chavalit, whose 27 colleagues were among those named in the petition, told the press that the party had already prepared testimony in relation to the cases.

Vichien said it was up to the court to decide if the MPs should be suspended, adding that the party had checked every candidate’s qualification before the election.

The opposition, led by anti-junta Pheu Thai and Future Forward parties, has been looking for ways to eliminate more MPs from the rival bloc.

Pheu Thai’s legal expert Chusak Sirinil is urging Future Forward Party to lodge a complaint with the House speaker to scrutinise whether MPs from smaller parties were qualified, considering their controversially small share of votes. The junta-appointed Election Commission’s decision to give seats to 11 smaller parties raised eyebrows, with some experts and politicians pointing out that these small parties had failed to gain the minimum votes required to cross the threshold of the House of Representatives.

The original calculation based on the Constitution suggests that each party is required to win 71,000 votes to get one MP seat.

However, the EC came up with a new calculation that landed these micro parties in the House of Representatives despite them having only between 30,000 and 60,000 votes. The parties returned the favour by voting Prayut in as prime minister and joined the pro-junta bloc.

In a related development, the pro-junta bloc was tipped to reach an agreement over contentious portfolios soon, but it was still unclear when Prayut will formally establish a Cabinet.

Despite previous tension, insiders have said that coalition partners will be given the ministries they want. The Democrat Party is likely to get the Agriculture, Commerce and Social Development ministries, while Bhumjaithai expects to land the Transport, Public Health and Tourism ministries.

The parties are currently considering which of their members should be given the ministerial positions.

Prayut said yesterday that he could now start discussing the issue after being endorsed as PM on Tuesday, adding that he will try to fill the positions as soon as possible. However, he wouldn’t say if his close colleague, General Prawit Wongsuwan, will continue as defence minister or if he will personally hold the portfolio along with being a PM.

Prayut also denied that there was a conflict within the Phalang Pracharat Party over the allocation of the political positions, saying this was merely media speculation.

The MPs, mainly from the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat Party, had been accused of holding shares in a media company which is prohibited by the Constitution. If found guilty, the MPs could be disqualified.

Another complaint involving 11 additional MPs would be submitted later on Wednesday after rechecking the MPs’ signatures, Chuan said.

Future Forward had launched two petitions with the Speaker on June 4 and 6 involving 41 MPs.

The move could be seen as retaliation from Future Forward Party whose leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit had been accused of the same charge. His case is pending in the Constitutional Court and he had been suspended from the Parliament until the lawsuit was settled.

Meanwhile, Phalang Pracharat registrar and MP Vichien Chavalit whose 27 colleagues were among those named in the petition on Wednesday told the press that the party had already prepared to testify with the Constitutional Court on the case. Vichien said it was for the court to decide if the MPs should be suspended. But the party had already done a qualification check on all parliamentary candidates before the election, he added.

GENERAL PRAYUT Chan-o-cha yesterday received royal endorsement as the new prime minister in a ceremony at Government House six days after winning a vote in Parliament, but there are no final deals yet on the allocation of Cabinet portfolios.

The ceremony was attended by the leaders of the pro-junta coalition, led by Phalang Pracharat leader Uttama Savanayana who congratulated Prayut after the royal endorsement reception yesterday.

Among senior leaders present at the ceremony yesterday were Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul and Chartthaipattana core leader Varawut Silpa-archa. However, Democrat leader Jurin Laksanawisit, whose party members have expressed their discomfort at joining the pro-military allies, was conspicuous by his absence.

The Democrat Party, which saw a split over the decision to join the Phalang Pracharat-led coalition, was represented by secretary-general Chalermchai Sri-on.

After receiving the endorsement, Prayut expressed his gratitude to His Majesty the King and promised to maintain high ethical standards and work to serve the public following the intention of the monarch.

Prayut also thanked Parliament, whose 250 senators he had handpicked to secure his position, and the public for their support.

Meanwhile, the general said yesterday that the issue of portfolios had not been discussed yet but he reiterated that he would have the final say on the composition of his Cabinet. It was only his first day as prime minister of the new regime, he added.

Earlier yesterday, at a weekly press briefing, Prayut said the discussions on ministerial positions must take into account the appropriateness of the candidates as well as public interest.

“Now we are the elected government, with elected MPs from different parties. We are the government of all Thai people. The policies to be implemented must match the budget in the best interest of the public,” Prayut said. “It will be decided soon.”

Responding to concerns about the impact of Article 44 on different issues, Prayut told the public not to be worried, saying everything would be sorted out before the new government takes office.

Until the new government was sworn in, the acting government would have full authority to carry out the work, Prayut said.

Prayut’s continuation in power has drawn mixed reactions.

Some see the new government as struggling in Parliament because of strong opposition while others believe it would manage to survive.

Political scientist Sirote Klampaiboon told The Nation yesterday that parliamentary politics may not be able to do much damage to the inexperienced general. The expert said Prayut could just ignore Parliament altogether.

“Prayut won’t even have to handle Parliament,” Sirote said, referring to the notion that the general would be beaten in the Lower House. “What I think we will see is parliamentary dictatorship with backing also from the Army.”

Not only does Prayut have the majority of MPs under his control in the chamber but he also has good connections with the Army leader, the expert explained.

The opposition, which many people believed could grill Prayut in the house, may not be able to do much, Sirote said.

For one thing, the censure motion could only come once a year, he added. On top of that, the Army’s interference and pressure would make it difficult for the opposition to scrutinise Prayut’s administration, Sirote explained.

The major challenge facing Prayut is in building trust with the public, he said.

“Prayut has to create a government that looks inclusive in the eyes of the public,” he said. “Right now, we only have people from the [anti-Shinawatra] side in it, such as Nattapol Teepsuwan and Puttipong Punnakanta. Also, the government has to prove itself better than its predecessor. Solve the bread and butter issue.”

Another political scientist, Attasit Pankaew from Thammasat University, also believes that Prayut’s administration would find public opinion more difficult to handle than parliamentary politics.

Attasit said the new government would have no honeymoon period. People expect to see economic issues being resolved in the next three to six months, he added.

How long the government would last would depend largely on its performance and what the public thought of it, the expert said.

Attasit, too, thinks Prayut can easily dodge encounters with the opposition. A motion of no confidence can only be brought once a year, he noted.

Other than that, the National Legislative Assembly had already passed more than 500 pieces of legislation under the junta rule, which should be sufficient for this administration, the political scientist said.

The only thing Prayut may have to worry about is the national budget bill, he added. But still, he said, Prayut already had a majority of MPs on his side and the margin could widen if the Election Commission decides to disqualify more opposition MPs or have election reruns, he said.

The endorsement came six days after Prayut, as a Phalang Pracharat Party candidate, was voted in as PM at Parliament.

The Royal Command was delivered by the House of Representatives’ secretary-general Sorasak Pienwet.

Prayut is Thailand’s 29th premier.

After receiving his endorsement, Prayut expressed his gratitude to His Majesty and promised to maintain high ethical standards. He also thanked the Parliament and the public for support.

Also present at the event were Prayut’s wife, Naraporn, and leaders of the coalition parties led by Phalang Pracharat leader Uttama Savanayana.

ANOTHER Future Forward Party leader may be hit with a criminal charge after member of Parliament Pannika Wanich came under the scrutiny of authorities |and ultra-royalists for an alleged anti-monarchy attitude going back nearly a decade.

The lese majeste allegation surfaced and put the MP as well as her affiliated party in a spot of bother after Pannika’s photos and posts on Facebook from nearly a decade ago were unearthed over the weekend.

The MP’s friends shown in the photos, who are also being accused of showing disrespect to the monarchy, were bombarded with insults by netizens angered by what they described as inappropriate poses.

Assistant National Police chief Pol Lt-General Piya Uta-yo said the authority was also concerned about social-media content as well as other similar cases, and had already ordered three taskforces – the Technology Crime Suppression Division, the legal department of the Royal Thai Police and the Special Branch Bureau – to look into it.

Piya said the taskforce would investigate whether or not Pannika and her friends had violated the computer crime law, the criminal law or the security law. The authorities could not immediately ascertain guilt and were waiting for all evidence to be gathered, he added.

Responding to a question on whether the case was politically motivated considering Pannika’s membership and role in the anti-junta Future Forward Party, Piya assured that the police did not discriminate against any particular groups of people but scrutinised everyone who had acted against the law.

Activist Srisuwan Janya, who has made several complaints against Future Forward and other parties, is expected to petition the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) today to scrutinise whether Pannika might have violated the ethical standards applied to all state authorities.

Thailand’s ethical standards prescribe that state officials uphold the primary institutions –the nation, the religion and the monarchy – as well as democratic rule with a constitutional monarchy.

Pannika on Sunday explained that the photo was taken in 2010 after the 2006 coup, when politically motivated allegations of lese majeste were prevalent. The photo was meant to reflect the tragedy of Thai politics, she said.

The MP apologised to those who were disturbed by the picture, but urged them to become aware of how younger people had grown up with questions about the exploitation of the monarchy to destroy political enemies.

Pannika has been among the leading figures in Future Forward, and has been in the spotlight even more in recent days after Parliament’s opening saw her taking part in parliamentary politics.

Prior to Pannika’s case, the youthful Future Forward had already been the subject of multiple lawsuits against them.

Despite many accusations, none of the party members have been charged with violating Article 112 that prohibits any insult of the monarchy.

Its leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanookul have been imminent targets.

Ultra-royalists appear to view Future Forward as anti-monarchist though the party has consistently denied the allegation.

Even in the recent parliamentary debates, some MPs and senators had expressed their support to the military-led regime because they could at least trust the junta to be loyal to the monarchy.

However, Future Forward and Pannika appear to have retained support on the internet following the unearthing of the decade-old photos and posts.

#SavePannika trended as Thailand’s top hashtag in tweets, with tens of thousands of Twitter users sending the MP their moral support.

From the time of the 2006 coup until now, political critics have consistently expressed concern about the exploitation of the lese majeste law for political purposes.

They point to the frequent use of the draconian law to destroy political rivals rather than protect the monarchy.

Prayut, the incumbent PM, won 500 votes in a joint Parliamentary voting session last week, beating Future Forward Party leader and PM candidate Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, who got 244 votes.

Officials from the state-run Channel 11 TV station were seen positioning equipment for live broadcast.

The date and time of Prayut’s royal endorsement as yet to be announced.

Party spokesperson Ladawan Wongsriwong raised six issues about which it wanted to grill the commission, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the body’s current, post-2014-coup incarnation.

She asked the EC to reveal the vote tallies of all polling stations in the March 24 general election, as many parties have submitted letters requesting the announcement of election scores since March 27, a few days after the poll.

Pheu Thai also accused the EC of not using the correct method to calculate party-list MPs for political parties, resulting in the pro-junta camp getting seats they were not supposed to have, she said, insisting that the method chosen by the electoral body was unconstitutional.

Ladawan also alleged that the EC had acted in a discriminatory manner by quickly submitting the controversial case against Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Jaungroongruangkit over his shareholding in a media business.

While Thanathorn’s case had been speeded up, those concerning another 40 MPs had moved at a slow pace, she said.

Cases against her own party over the alleged violation of election law had also moved quickly, compared to other cases, she added.

Would the election commissioners take responsibility, as they have been flooded by complaints about their action and inaction, the Pheu Thai spokesperson asked.

More than 800,000 have signed an online petition asking for investigation into the role of the EC and seeking the unseating of its independent committee members, she pointed out.

“The general election garnered not only negative opinions from Thai society, but also from foreign countries. Many foreign media reported that General Prayut Chan-o-cha won the vote in Parliament to sit in the top government post because of the unfair rules putting other competitor parties at a disadvantage. Thai society has waited for an explanation from the EC,” Ladawan said.