The two parties together hold 103 seats in the House of Representatives, 148 short of a majority but enough to gain leverage against the rival coalitions.

The Democrats and Bhumjaithai won 52 and 51 MPs, respectively, but both remained undecided on which camp to join in the Parliament.

On Tuesday, Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul posted photos on Facebook of a working dinner with Democrat’s secretary-general Chalermchai Sri-on and Prachuabkirikhan MP Montri Panoynon.

“We’re working here, not just dining. It’s exactly like what we’ve said before,” Anutin wrote.

The photos showed the trio sharing a meal and Anutin and Chalermchai shaking hands, smiling.

This raised questions about whether the two parties would create an alliance to help form a coalition to end the political deadlock.

JUNTA CHIEF General Prayut Chan-o-cha has warned that the current horse-trading among politicians could hurt the next government’s credibility.

Prayut, however, denied that he or his close colleague, General Prawit Wongsuwan, had participated in any negotiation, stressing it was for the political parties to discuss and sort out.

Prayut also put a positive spin on a coalition of some 16 parties led by Phalang Pracharat Party forming the next government, brushing aside concerns over stability.

“It’s okay. We have to look at it positively,” Prayut said. “With multiple parties, it can be good in a way that we can try to implement all the policies they have promised the voters.”

Phalang Pracharat only won 115 seats in the lower house and will have to rely on medium-sized and minor parties to form a government.

Experts believe such a multiparty government will be unstable. Each party could pursue its own agenda, making administration difficult for the government.

Prayut’s offer to implement the election promises of all coalition partners could be viewed as a veiled message to Bhumjaithai Party.

The medium-sized party, with 51 MPs from the recent election, has the power to determine which bloc – pro-junta or anti-junta – forms the government. Its leader Anutin Charnvirakul was even tipped to be offered the PM’s post, but he has rested his decision on how each bloc welcomes his party’s policy to legalise marijuana.

Prayut said yesterday that one of the perks of a multi-party government could be the variety of policies and he personally viewed them positively. However, citing legislation, Prayut admitted not all policies could come through.

“Even though I have significant power, I cannot make everything possible,” he said. “I hope that the next government would just continue the good things. Politics should work that way. It’s not competition and all these positions are not for trading.

“Today, the parties are discussing among themselves. Please do not involve me in it. I won’t interfere with that,” Prayut said. “I think everything depends on mutual understanding about what the country needs right now. If it prolongs for too long, it would hurt the economy and international confidence.”

He said he could not make any call now, as he was not the head of the new government. He, however, made it clear that once he takes charge, the Cabinet members would have to be decided by him.

Prayut also dismissed news reports published overseas that the next PM could be founder of the CP Group, Dhanin Chearavanont.

“How could that be? I have no idea about that,” he told the press.

Meanwhile, junta No 2 General Prawit denied all reports that he had held discussions with different parties over the next Parliament.

However, when asked about Prayut wanting him to return and continue as defence minister after the new government is set up, Prawit said: “If that’s what he wants. But nobody knows about the future. Prayut does not know if he could be the PM or not.”

In a related development, former Democrat leader Banyat Banthadthan yesterday said he did not want to become the speaker of the lower house.

Banyat thanked fellow MPs for considering him, saying it was an honour as the post was the head of one of the three pillars of parliamentary democracy. He, however, said he would rather be an ordinary MP.

He said he wanted independence and freedom to work more in rural areas to sort out public issues, adding there were other Democrat MPs who had the credentials to take this post.

Meanwhile, in the junta-appointed upper house, former president of the now-defunct National Legislative Assembly (NLA) reportedly would return as speaker of the Senate.

The first and the second deputy speaker posts would go to former NLA member Singhsuek Singhprai and former Election Commission president Supachai Somcharoen respectively.

The vote would take place this Friday when Parliament opens.

WITH LESS than a week before Parliament opens for the first time since the March 24 elections, the Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties are still undecided about which camp they will join.

The Democrats met for the first time yesterday under new leader Jurin Laksanavisit, but a decision on its post-election stance was not on the agenda.

“We’ll meet again to discuss which bloc we are going to or not going to join,” said Jurin, who was voted in as party leader last week. “The party has its principles and its people-oriented ideology. The members will meet [today] and we will talk about the direction of our work in Parliament.”

He also floated two names for speaker of the House of Representatives – the party’s influential former leader Banyat Banthadtan, and patriarch Chuan Leekpai. He added that the Democrats had not yet decided whom they would vote for as PM.

Bhumjaithai also did not clarify its position yesterday.

Bhumjaithai secretary-general Saksiam Chidchob said during an orientation session for MPs and a party meeting in Buri Ram province yesterday, that the responsibility had been vested in party leader Anutin Charnvirakul.

He added that the party had four core conditions: reverence for the monarchy, peace, implementation of the party’s proposals, and stability of the government.

Saksiam said none of the parties had approached Bhumjaithai yet, but Anutin will hold meetings with different parties in the next couple of days before making a decision on which bloc to join.

Observers put this uncertainty down to unfinished horse-trading.

The likelihood of both Democrat and Bhumjaithai backing the Phalang Pracharat-led coalition was accentuated by the pro-democracy camp’s desperation. Meanwhile, the anti-junta Pheu Thai offered to even sacrifice the PM’s post, despite having the most number of MPs in Parliament, to gain support from the two parties.

Sources said dissatisfaction with the seats being offered was the only factor preventing Democrat and Bhumjaithai from announcing their pro-junta stance.

The two parties reportedly are not satisfied as most of the key ministries are being handed over to Phalang Pracharat figures.

Phalang Pracharat and its allies are reportedly scheduled to discuss the matter again on Thursday.

It is believed that the Democrat Party will be offered the post of speaker of the lower house – most likely Banyat – while Bhumjaithai is expected to get the post of second deputy speaker.

The posts of first deputy speaker and chair of the government whip are expected to go to Phalang Pracharat’s MP from Chachoengsao, Suchat Tancharoen, and party-list MP Wirat Ratanasret respectively.

Phalang Pracharat is expected to also dominate the Cabinet, with the same people holding the posts of PM, deputy PMs and ministers. General Prayut Chan-o-cha will be the prime minister, while his current deputies General Prawit Wongsuwan, Somkid Jatusripitak and Wissanu Krea-ngam will continue in their positions.

Meanwhile, the portfolios for Defence, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Industry and Commerce will be given to the same old faces, namely Prawit, General Anupong Paojinda, Don Pramudwinai, Uttama Savanayana and Sontirat Sontijirawong respectively.

Also, veteran politicians like Somsak Thepsuthin, Suriya Juangroongruangkit, Anucha Nakasai and Ittipon Khumpleum, who helped Phalang Pracharat win the election, will be awarded with ministerial seats.

Other ministerial candidates include pro-coup figures such as Nattapol Teepsuwan and Puttipong Punakanta.

The Democrat Party, meanwhile, will be allocated secondary ministries such as Higher Education, Education, Justice and Labour, or secondary positions such as deputy ministers in Interior, Finance and Agriculture.

Bhumjaithai may be given both the posts of minister and deputy minister in Public Health, and deputy minister posts in the Transport, Interior, Agriculture, Finance and Commerce ministries.

Separately, Future Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit’s fate in politics hangs by a thread despite his party’s successful debut.

The Constitutional Court will on Thursday discuss whether he should be disqualified for allegedly holding shares in a media company. If found guilty, Thanathorn can be banned from elections for 20 years and jailed for one to 10 years.

Phayao Akkahad, the mother of Kamonkade – a volunteer nurse who was among the six killed at the temple – held a religious ceremony at Pak Bueng Temple in Lat Krabang district to make merit for her deceased daughter.

Other events marking the tragic incident were planned for later yesterday.

Another event was planned at 7pm at the nearby Ratchaprasong intersection, with candle-lighting and singing in memory of the deceased protesters.

Phayao called on the government and relevant authorities to ensure justice for the protesters as well as soldiers killed during the tumultuous street protests in 2010.

On May 19, 2010, many red-shirt protesters gathered inside Wat Pathum Wanaram while an operation by security forces was under way at a nearby protest site to disperse the street protests that had continued for over two months.

The six were shot dead from a distance and the perpetrators were believed to have fired from the Skytrain tracks just outside the temple. Authorities at that time blamed armed men in black mingling among the protesters.

But many among the red shirts believe it was the work of security forces.

Phayao said yesterday that she believed government officials were responsible for the shootings of her daughter and the others killed at Wat Pathum Wanaram.

She also said that over the past five years in power, the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) – many of whose members were top military commanders overseeing the crackdown on protesters in May 2010 – had failed to push for a speedy investigation into the deaths of protesters.

Instead, she noted, the protesters were branded “terrorists” and blamed for the arson attacks on many buildings in Bangkok at that time.

“It’s nine years of silence. We have not yet seen justice. I will not allow silence to continue,” she said.

Phayao also said the red-shirt protesters were vilified as terrorists and arsonists, adding that it was proved in court that “no burning had happened”.

She noted that five military officers were killed in the 2010 incident but that the NCPO had failed to push for an investigation to find out who had killed them.

“The truth must be found for the sake of the families of the soldiers who had lost their lives,” she added.

“If the democratic camp is able to form a new government, I expect to see progress in the cases involving the red shirts,” Phayao said.

THE PRO-JUNTA Phalang Pracharat Party claimed to have successfully cobbled together a coalition that could form a new government with the participation of the Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties, a source from the major coalition partner said yesterday.

Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha will again head the post-election administration, with many members of his current post-coup Cabinet joining him, including General Prawit Wongsuwan, General Anupong Paochinda, Somkid Jatusripitak and Wissanu Krea-ngam, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

However, it remained unclear if Prayut would also double as defence minister or allow Prawit to assume the post again in addition to the deputy PM’s post.

Phalang Pracharath will get at least 16 Cabinet seats and the Democrats and Bhumjaithai would get seven each, the source said, adding that these numbers were based on an agreed quota of one Cabinet seat for seven MPs.

In the March 24 general election, Phalang Pracharath won 115 MP seats, the Democrats 52 and Bhumjaithai 51.

Among the key Cabinet portfolios expected to go to Phalang Pracharath are Finance, Transport, Commerce, Education, Foreign Affairs, Tourism and Sports, and Natural Resources and the Environment.

The Democrats are expected to get the Labour and Justice portfolios besides the minister of Social Development and Human Security as well as minister of University Affairs, Science Research and Innovations – a new ministry created by the current government.

According to the source, the Democrat Party will also get deputy ministers for Interior, Finance and Education.

Bhumjaithai has successfully bargained for the seats of Public Health minister and Digital Economy and Society minister, in addition to deputy minister seats in the ministries of Transport, Interior and Commerce, the source said.

The party’s leader, Anutin Charnvirakul, is expected to become the new Public Health minister to push for its policy platform of legalising marijuana.

Meanwhile, political parties in the “democratic camp” still have not given up hope of forming a new coalition government despite claims by the rival pro-junta camp of their success, Pheu Thai secretary-general Phumtham Wechayachai said yesterday.

The confidence was expressed as both Pheu Thai and Phalang Pracharat were heavily lobbying for support from smaller parties.

Phumtham said all the parties in the group, that he called the “democratic camp”, remained firm about going ahead with forming a new government.

He said his coalition had the main goal of “preventing the country reaching a dead end and stopping the continuation of power” by the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) through General Prayut Chan-o-cha, who is the sole prime ministerial candidate for Phalang Pracharath.

“The parties in the democratic camp still have not stopped today. For us, the journey is not completed,” Phumtham said in his Facebook post.

“All the parties [in the camp] are still determined; we have exchanged views with all sides and we see hopes from the dialogue. I can tell you that there is progress in our work,” he said.

Rivals not convinced

Phumtham said the rival camp’s claim of near success in putting together a coalition government was merely a psychological move aimed at boosting their allies’ confidence in an attempt to gain political power and continue with their rule.

He voiced confidence that the Pheu Thai-led alliance would eventually win when the House of Representatives votes on Saturday.

“We are hopeful of a victory in the House of Representatives. We are confident that we can bring about better changes,” he said.

The new House of Representatives is scheduled to convene its first meeting on Saturday to elect the speaker and two deputy speakers.

General Prayut, who led the 2014 military coup to overthrow a Pheu Thai-led government, is the current prime minister and also heads the NCPO.

Both Pheu Thai and Phalang Pracharat have claimed legitimacy to form the next government, with the former winning the most House seats and the latter gaining the most popular votes in the March 24 general election.

Varawut Silpa-archa, a key figure in the Chart Thai Pattana Party, said yesterday that his party had been approached by both Pheu Thai and Phalang Pracharat to join their rival coalitions. “But there has been no agreement whatsoever,” Varawut said, adding that Chart Thai politicians would meet on Thursday to discuss “which way to head” regarding the matter.

Meanwhile, the Democrat Party, which is also being courted by both Pheu Thai and Phalang Pracharath, maintained yesterday that it would base its decision “mainly for the benefit of the people and the country”, spokesman Ramet Ratanachaweng said.

He said no meeting has been scheduled between the party’s newly elected MPs and new executive board headed by party leader Jurin Laksanavisit to decide about joining a new government.

“The public should trust the Democrat Party under the leadership of Jurin Laksanavisit. We will basically do whatever is needed to benefit the people and the country,” the spokesman said.

In a related development, the Bhumjaithai Party – which is also being wooed by rival camps to join their coalitions – holds an orientation meeting for its new MPs at a hotel in Buri Ram province today.

At the meeting, to be chaired by Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul, the party’s executives and MPs are expected to determine its stance as to which camp it would join to form a next government.

“How good is Australia!”, shouted a jubilant Morrison, who came to office just nine months ago in a party coup against his moderate predecessor, Malcolm Turnbull.

While it remained unclear if Morrison’s Liberal party and their rural-based National party partners would win enough seats to form a majority government, the leader of the main opposition Labor party conceded defeat shortly before midnight.

“It is obvious that Labor will not be able to form the next government”, Bill Shorten told stunned supporters in Melbourne.

“In the national interest, a short while ago I called Scott Morrison to congratulate him,” Shorten said, adding that he would also stand down as leader of his party in the wake of its shock defeat.

The result was a monumental upset and a failure by pollsters, who had for months predicted a comfortable victory for Labor after six years in the opposition.

Some bookies had paid out early expecting a coalition defeat and all but the most ardent partisans had thrown in the towel.

The results appeared to show a fractured electorate with minor populist and right-wing parties playing an outsized role in tipping the balance in favour of the conservatives in key districts in the northeast of the country.

They include Pauline Hanson, whose party shrugged off revelations her party solicited money from the US gun lobby and Clive Palmer — dubbed Australia’s Donald Trump — who splashed tens of millions on a populist campaign.

Australia has compulsory voting and a complex system of ballots ranked by voter preference, with big political, economic and cultural differences from state to state on the vast island-continent.

– ‘Snatched a win’ –

Many of the laurels for victory will go to Morrison, who just weeks ago looked set for an electoral drubbing, fated to enter the history books as one of the most short-lived prime ministers in Australian history.

But he closed the gap with a negative campaign and backing from the country’s biggest media organisation — owned by Rupert Murdoch — mainly targeting older, wealthier voters concerned over Labor plans to cut various tax loopholes in order to fund spending on education, healthcare and climate initiatives.

“Labor campaigned hard on a big target strategy with a series of key tax concessions, that ultimately seem not to have resonated with voters,” said Rob Manwaring, a political lecturer at Flinders University in Adelaide.

“Despite the wider fragmentation of the right in Australia, they have snatched a seeming win,” he told AFP, calling the coalition victory “extraordinary and surprising”.

Liberal supporters were ecstatic over the result.

“Unbelievable,” gushed Anthony Ching at the Liberal party headquarters. “Everybody was expecting that we were not going to win.”

Labor backers were disconsolate.

“I think Morrison campaigned on fear, and people have fallen for it,” Julie Nelson, 67.

Climate change had featured prominently throughout the campaign.

Australia is one of the most vulnerable of all developed nations to climate change and a season of record floods, wildfires and droughts has brought the issue from the political fringes to front and centre of the campaign.

In traditionally more conservative rural areas, climate-hit farmers are increasingly demanding action, while in several rich suburbs, a generational shift has seen eco-minded candidates running Liberal party luminaries close.

In northern Sydney, former prime minister Tony Abbott — who once described climate change as “crap” — lost a seat he has held for a quarter century to independent challenger Zali Steggall, a lawyer and Olympic medallist in Alpine skiing.

While admitting his own defeat, mainly over the climate issue, Abbott claimed there had been a “realignment” in Australian politics with Liberals winning more of the working class vote, adding: “I’m not going to let one bad day spoil 25 years”.

The national campaign has been an often ill-tempered pitched-battle. Candidates have been egged and abused, and a slew have resigned for racist, sexist and otherwise jaw-dropping social media posts.

FUTURE Forward Party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit announced yesterday he was ready to serve as prime minister, even as the Election Commission (EC) was asking the Constitutional Court to disqualify him as a member of Parliament.

The EC cited his alleged ownership of stakes in a media company. Being found guilty of the charge would not only block his political ambitions but also send him to jail for 10 years.

Unfazed by the challenge, Thanathorn declared that his party was ready to take the lead in forming the next government. “I am ready to be the next prime minister in order to stop the continuity of power of the National Council for Peace and Order,” Thanathorn told reporters, referring to the military junta.

He said the March 24 election was tilted to favour the pro-junta Phalang Pacharat Party and there was no other way to stop the military from clinging to political power. General Prayut Chan-o-cha has strong support to continue as premier, he said.

Thanathorn said Future Forward would compete with the pro-junta camp in mustering support in Parliament to form the government.

The party has a signed an agreement with the Pheu Thai, Puea Chart, Prachachat, Seri Ruam Thai, Phalang Puang Chon and New Economics parties to do so. But, by the EC’s calculations of party-list MPs, the rival camp led by Phalang Pracharat, buttressed by a string of “micro-parties”, commands 255 seats in the Lower House, enough for a working minority government.

The Constitution requires more than half of the combined 750 seats in both houses to install a prime minister. The junta has handpicked loyalists to occupy Senate seats, who would likely block the anti-junta coalition from forming a government.

Pheu Thai, which won the most seats in the Lower House, yesterday summoned key members such as Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan and Phumtham Wechayachai to discuss strategies for countering Phalang Pracharat. The preferred solution, according to a party source, was to bring the Democrat and Bhumjaithai parties, which have a combined 103 seats, into the anti-junta camp.

The two could decide between them who gets the premier’s post, the source said.

Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday his party would make a decision on Monday about which camp to join. “There’s a lot of strong pressure to decide because the political community is so heavily focused on the pro- versus anti-democracy camps,” he said. “The people made their decision in the election, so there should be no division anymore.”

The Democrats, who elected Jurin Laksanawisit the party’s new leader on Wednesday, are also going to wait until next week to decide which camp to join.

Thanathorn’s defiant declaration came hours after the EC asked the charter court to revoke his MP status. A month after the election, the EC accused the billionaire of violating electoral laws by owning or holding 675,000 shares in V-Luck Media Co when he registered as a party-list candidate for the election.

Both the Constitution and the MPs Election Act prohibit MP candidates from holding shares in media companies. If found guilty, Thanathorn would be disqualified as an MP and could be jailed for one to 10 years, as well as being banned from elections for 20 years.

Thanathorn, who became a member of Parliament when his party won a surprise 80 seats in the House, insists he has done nothing wrong, as proven in the documentation and other evidence he has submitted to the authorities.

“This is a last-ditch effort by the junta to block Future Forward, but I believe the court will be just,” he told reporters.

Thanathorn had earlier said the shares he owned were transferred to his mother long before he signed up as a candidate.

His party placed fifth in the number of elected MPs in the March 24 national poll, behind Pheu Thai, Phalang Pracharat, Future Forward and Democrat.

As a result, Bhumjaithai has been wooed by both major party blocs as they position to cross the majority threshold and form the next government.

Anutin was speaking after leading his party’s MPs to report themselves as new MPs at the new Parliament building.

Since the Election Commission announced the official vote results, Anutin has kept his cards close to his chest, at times playing coy about which side his party would join.

“The decision on the matter will be discussed among the 51 MPs of the party during their orientation in Buri Ram province between the coming Sunday and Monday,” he said yesterday.

On Monday, a decision will be made at a meeting of the MPs who had gathered opinions on the matter from the public,” Anutin said.

The feedback from MPs will be considered by the party leader and the secretary general as they come to a decision on the matter.

Anutin maintained his refusal to discuss rumours that his party had already started negotiation with a particular party for forming the government.

“The party has been under pressure for quite a period of time. We have not yet been approached by any party. This matter has to be openly discussed,” he insisted.

Thanathorn Jungroongruangkit, 40, is accused of not giving up his shares in the V-Luck Media Company before registering his candidacy.

The decision came a few days after Thanathorn was named party-list MP in the March 24 election and registered in Parliament.

EC launched an investigation into Thanathorn’s business activities after activist Srisuwan Janya filed a motion with the commission asking it to disqualify the politician.

Section 42(3) of the MPs Election Act prohibits an election candidate from being a proprietor or shareholder of a media company.

The new party, which debuted at the national general elections, officially won 80 party-list seats.