The 11-party coalition led by Pheu Thai hopes to form a government with Sretta Thavisin as Prime Minister

The coalition is comprised of 11 parties, including Bhumjaithai (71 MPs), Palang Pracharath Party (40 MPs), and United Thai Nation Party (36 MPs).   In total, it will command 314 votes in parliament. The party is confident that Sretta Thavisin, a PTP prime ministerial candidate, will be elected during today’s selection process.

Announcing the government coalition, PTP leader Chonlanan Srikaew said the coalition members have agreed that they will not amend the lese majeste law and added that the Move Forward Party (MFP) will not be joining. The coalition has already divided ministerial posts and plans to focus on the sluggish economy as its most pressing policy issue.

“At present, economic issues are the number one problem that needs to be urgently addressed.  People are facing an economic crisis. Rising household debt and the problems of small and medium-sized businesses have persisted for a long time and require immediate resolution. At the same time, there is a need for economy stimulation through structural measures and mechanisms to restore confidence in the country again," the coalition declared in a  statement released on 21 August.

Meanwhile, MFP which has 141 seats in the lower house will not vote for a candidate from PTP. Chaithawat Tulathon, secretary-general of MFP, said that the party’s MPs will instead cast disapproval votes for PM candidates from the multipolar government.  He added that voting in support of the coalition amounts to a concession to - and prolongation of - a political system that refuses to relinquish the ultimate power to the people.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of de-facto PTP leader Thaksin Shinawatra—who returned to Thailand this morning —said that the party had to sacrifice some political capital to move the country forward.  She was referring to the harsh public criticism directed at PTP after the party left the MFP-led coalition and decided to join forces with Palang Pracharath Party and United Thai Nation Party, breaking a promise it made to voters during the election.