The deputy speaker positions went to former NLA member General Singhsuek Singhprai and former Election Commission president Supachai Somcharoen.

They were the sole candidates for the posts, guaranteeing their success without any voting.

They included Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit who had been suspended from duties the day before.

White-suited Thanathorn also appeared at the foreign ministry office – the ceremony avenue – as he still had the right to participate in the ceremony but not to vote after his suspension.

The suspension stemmed from the media shareholding case, which is now before the Constitutional Court, to make a decision whether to remove him from office or not.

On Thursday, when the Court announced Thanathorn should be suspended from the House of Representatives until the case was concluded, it was assumed that Thanathorn would not be entering Parliament despite his huge success in the election.

Though it was bad news for the anti-junta camp, supporters were still able to make jokes about Thanathorn and the white suit, posting the attire for sale as a “like new” outfit.

“Second hand but only worn once. It’s good as new,” the viral posts said.

Previously, Future Forward Party had posted photos of its leaders including Thanathorn trying out the uniform after their electoral success. The photos made their supporters happy as most people thought they would not make it into parliament.

THE CONSTITUTIONAL Court |yesterday agreed to hear the Election Commission (EC)’s plea to disqualify Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit from the House of Representatives over his alleged shareholding in media company V-Luck.

The judges voted 9-0 to hear the case, and suspended the anti-junta politician from serving as an MP, a day before Parliament opens after the March 24 election.

Thanathorn has 15 days after receiving the court notice to provide his defence against the allegation.

The EC took the case to charter court, seeking rulings on whether Thanathorn’s membership in the House of Representatives should be terminated and whether he should be suspended from office in the meantime.

The EC petition claimed that Thanathorn held shares in V-Luck, which publishes celebrity magazine Who?, even after he had applied to contest in the general election.

Thanathorn and Future Forward Party had claimed that more than 900,000 shares had been transferred |to his mother, Somporn Juangroongruangkit, in January, a month before the MP candidate registration opened.

The share transfer document also showed the transaction was completed on January 8 but the controversy arose as the business development department recognised the shareholder change only on March 21 – three days before the election. This raised the question if Thanathorn was a shareholder of the media company even after becoming an MP candidate.

MP candidates are prohibited from holding shares in media companies under the Constitution. If found violating the law, the MP’s membership in the lower house should be terminated, the supreme law states.

Once the case was accepted by the Constitutional Court, it also had the jurisdiction to suspend the accused MP from work until a ruling was made.

As a result of the suspension, Thanathorn cannot enter Parliament and will miss the opportunity to vote for the head and the deputies of the House of Representatives as well as the prime minister despite his success in the election.

Critics see the possibility of Thanathorn being disqualified, as a first step to disband the highly popular Future Forward Party and weaken the anti-junta bloc. If the court rules that Thanathorn was not qualified to stand as an MP candidate, the party could also be charged with approving an unqualified candidate, paving the way for its dissolution.

Thanathorn yesterday held a press conference, saying Future Forward’s fight against the current regime continued despite the current development against them.

Though his MP status was hanging by a thread, the anti-junta politician said his PM candidacy remained. He was ready to be the PM and lead the coalition.

“This is not the time to lose hope. It’s the time to stand against [injustice],” Thanathorn said. “Future Forward MPs remain hopeful. I urge everyone to be hopeful, too.”

The suspension may bar him from Parliament, but Thanathorn said he would continue to work as the people’s representative even outside Parliament.

While disagreeing with the court’s decision, Thanathorn questioned if the process initiated by the EC had been lawful.

He said the EC agreed to take the case to the court even before a subcommittee had completed its investigation. The committee was trying to summon concerned individuals to provide information about the case even after the case had been sent to the Constitutional Court.

The anti-junta politician also called out the EC for rushing to pursue legal action against him. In comparison, in a similar case against Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai, the poll authority took more than 400 days to approach the court, he said.

Though it has been two months after the March 24 elections, the dust has yet to settle as the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat Party and anti-junta Pheu Thai vie to form a coalition government with both parties almost neck and neck in the number of MPs whose support they claim.

A Phalang Pracharat source claimed yesterday that they had the support of as many as 252 MPs to form the government.

The source had said earlier that its bloc comprised Phalang Pracharat with 115 seats; Democrat Party with 52, Bhumjaithai 51, Charthaipattana 10, Action Coalition for Thailand with five, Chartpattana with three, Thai Local Power with three, Thai Forest Conservation Party with two, and 11 seats from 11 minor parties.

File photo: Mingkwan Sangsuwan

The source claimed their bloc will be able to gather 259-260 seats if the five New Economics Party MPs join the pro-junta camp now that party leader Mingkwan Sangsuwan has stepped down, along with two or three MPs from Puea Chart.

Meanwhile, the anti-junta bloc has been further weakened after Future Forward leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was suspended as MP by the Constitutional Court yesterday and will be barred from entering Parliament today. The court accepted a case against him over his alleged shareholdings in a media company in the lead-up to the elections. Thanathorn may be barred from politics for 20 years and may face 10 years in jail.

Their Majesties the King and Queen will preside over the opening of Parliament today at Vithes Samosorn Hall at 3pm, while tomorrow, the Senate will choose its speaker and deputies. Also tomorrow, the House of Representatives will select the speaker and deputies.

Once the speakers are royally endorsed, the speaker of the House of Representatives, who serves as Parliament president, will hold a meeting of both houses to choose the prime minister.

The person for the country’s top post will be chosen from parties’ PM candidates’ list and the winning candidate must get a majority – 376 votes.

Once a PM is chosen and royally endorsed, he will form the next government and get his Cabinet to swear allegiance to the country and the King. Then the Cabinet will have 15 days to announce its policies in Parliament, Wissanu said.

Meanwhile, as the two blocs scramble to gather the most number of MPs to form a government, Mingkwan quit his job as leader of the New Economics Party after what he said was an “accomplished mission”.

Mingkwan had earlier thrown his support behind the anti-junta bloc, but now his resignation has raised doubts about whether his party MPs will maintain his earlier stance.

File photo: Phumtham Wechayachai

However, Pheu Thai secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai said yesterday that he believes the New Economics Party will keep its promise to join the anti-junta bloc despite apparent disagreements within the party. He said he believes all six party-list New Economics MPs will join a Pheu Thai-led coalition, because previous discussions had included all party members, not just Mingkwan.

Phumtham said he would ask Mingkwan to explain his decision and whether he had been forced to step down.

Mingkwan said he had been responsible for drafting his party’s platform of a new economic system and selling the idea to voters, while other party executives oversaw different areas, such as recruiting new members, raising funds and management.

“Now that the election has been completed, I consider this a suitable time to resign as leader of the New Economics Party,” Mingkwan said in his resignation letter. In the letter, he also clarified that he would retain his party membership and seat as a party-list MP.

It is believed that Mingkwan stepped down due to conflicts within the party, as many of its candidates were demanding that their campaign costs be reimbursed.

One source said that each candidate had spent anything between Bt200,000 to Bt2 million, and won enough votes to garner six party-list seats, though the party failed to win any constituency seats.

The group led by Udon Thani candidate Angkritsada Rawinit alleged the New Economics executives failed to keep their promise to repay money spent during their campaigns.

Each candidate had spent between Bt200,000 to Bt2 million, he said.

They were suffering from stress and some had become suicidal over their financial problems, Angkritsada said. He added that at least two candidates had already died because of stress.

The development came after Mingkwan Sangsuwan stepped down as leader on Thursday.

Angkritsada said he was not certain if his resignation had stemmed from the financial problems.

“I can only say that it is shameful,” he said. “If he is to quit, he should quit from the House of Representatives, too. If he cannot help the party candidates, he cannot possibly help the country.”

The candidates released LINE conversations showing executives promising to reimburse candidates receiving more than 500 votes.

New Economics gained 480,000 votes in the March 24 election, which secured six party-list seats in the Lower House.

The Court also ordered that the anti-junta politician be suspended from office until the case is settled. That order will prevent Thanathorn from entering Parliament on Friday.

Thanathorn has been accused of holding shares in media company V-Luck after the election period had started, which is prohibited under the Constitution and electoral laws.

Thanathorn has denied the accusation, claiming that he transferred the shares to his mother long before the deadline.

Mingkwan Saengsuwan announced today (Thursday) he had stepped down as party leader. He said had wanted to formulate economic policies and run the election campaign, meaning his tasks had been completed.

Mingkwan would retain his membership while his resignation raised questions about party policy in the Parliament.

Phumtham said he believed the six party-list New Economics MPs would join the Pheu Thai-led coalition. Cross-party discussions had included all New Economics members, not just Mingkwan, Phumtham said.

The chief of the Thaksin Shinawatra-backed party said he would ask Mingkwan about what had happened and if he had been pressured to step down.

Once known as a master of marketing, Mingkwan tendered his resignation yesterday but it was not made public until today (Thursday).

The Election Commission president also doubles as the political party registrar.

He said he had been responsible for drafting the party’s platform of a new economic system and selling the idea to voters in the run-up to the March 24 general election.

Other members of the party’s executive team were responsible for different areas, including recruiting members, raising funds and general management, he added.

“Now that the election has been completed, I see it is a suitable time for me to resign as leader of the New Economics Party,” Mingkwan said in his resignation letter.

The letter stated that Mingkwan would keep his party membership and his seat as a party-list MP.

Mingkwan’s resignation came amid conflict within the party, as many of its election candidates were seeking payments from the party to cover their campaign costs. One source said the spending for each candidate ranged from Bt200,000 to Bt2 million.

Votes from those candidates enabled New Economics to win six seats from the party-list electoral system. The party failed to elect any constituency MPs.

The development came after the Election Commission (EC) submitted the case to court, asking it to rule on whether Thanathorn had breached the Constitution and electoral laws prohibiting MP candidates from holding shares in media companies.

If found guilty, he will not only lose his MP seat and be banned from politics for 20 years, but can also face a jail term of up to 10 years.

If the court decides to accept the case today, it is also possible that Thanathorn will be prohibited from entering Parliament tomorrow as an MP. It is within the court’s jurisdiction to ban the politician from office until the case is settled.

Future Forward secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, who previously taught law at Thammasat University, questioned if the process was just as he compared Thanathorn’s case with that of Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.

Don had been accused of a similar wrongdoing, when his wife held shares in a media company.

In Don’s case, the EC had taken more than 400 days to submit the case with the Constitutional Court, while in Thanathorn’s case, it took less than 60 days, Piyabutr noted, asking whether the two politicians had been treated equally by the agency.

The Election Commission was appointed by the junta-led government.

The former law professor also slammed the poll authority for trying to disqualify Thanathorn as an MP, saying the EC had no authority to do so as the law only allowed for it to check candidates’ qualifications up until the last day before the elections. In this case, he said, it would have been March 23.

The complaint about Thanathorn holding media shares taken to the EC two days after the election, Piyabutr said. He also pointed out that the agency had endorsed Thanathorn as an MP candidate before the elections, and it was impossible for it to now turn around and try to disqualify his candidacy.

“According to law, his status as an MP began on the day of the election,” the law expert explained. “The EC has absolutely no authority to disqualify him now. He is no longer just a candidate.”

However, since the case is already with the court, Piyubutr said the only thing the court can do today is accept or dismiss it.

If the court does decide to take on the case, it cannot suspend Thanathorn from his work as an MP just yet, Piyabutr said, adding that Don had been given a whole month to explain himself in court before any decision was made.

“After that the court decided not to suspend Don from office, reasoning that the case did not affect the administration,” he said, adding that the very same standards should be applied to his party’s leader.

The professor also pointed out that Thanathorn did not lack qualifications when it came to the election race, adding that he had transferred all his shares in January and held no media shares on the day he applied to contest in the election.

Thanathorn’s disqualification threat is among the many cases Future Forward is facing after its successful debut in the March 24 election. The party did much better than the pundits predicted, winning over 6 million votes and more than 80 seats in the lower house, and also attracting votes in Democrat strongholds in Bangkok.

In a latest case, a complaint was filed with the EC earlier this week that the party may have illegally taken a loan of Bt110 million from its leader. Pro-junta figure Seri Suwannapanon said if the complaint is successful, it will result in the dissolution of Future Forward.

Pheu Thai had an executive meeting on Wednesday to discuss its parliamentary prospects and agreed to run for house Speaker and the deputy positions.

If the pro-junta Phalang Pracharat Party led a coalition with the support of more than 15 parties, Democrat Banyat Banthathan reportedly would become the house Speaker.

But Banyat rejected the offer on Tuesday, saying he would be more useful as an ordinary MP.

Pheu Thai, after the executive meeting, issued internal letters to MPs and members to comment on the nomination by 6pm on Friday before a vote on Saturday, one day after the Parliament opens.

Pheu Thai secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai said the party remained firm in its intention to form a coalition.

It was ready to enter talks with any party and compromise on its political positions to end the crisis, Phumtham added.

The key parties, Democrat and Bhumjaithai, are yet to make an announcement about which bloc they will support.

But Phumtham said there should be clarity about the establishment of the government before Saturday.

As the party with the most lower house seats, it had the right to form a government, he said.

Any attempt to bypass Pheu Thai to form a coalition was inappropriate and the party would oppose it, he added.

Phumtham called on the Democrats and Bhumjaithai, which had 103 MPs in total, to take a responsible position to break the deadlock.

He said voters would decide whether the parties were acting in the public interest.