As expected, the junta and its puppet party, Palang Pracharath, have responded to Puea Thai’s announcement that it believes it can form a coalition government.
Deputy Dictator Gen Prawit Wongsuwan declared the whole thing a sham: “They can talk, but the EC (Election Commission) has not officially announced the election results. Wait until after May 9…”. He revealed that “[o]ur plan is that the government will be formed after the royal ceremonies [coronation]…”.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam seemed to reveal a bit more when he said:
The outstanding five percent of election results (from the EC) is a lot of votes and some prospective MPs could be disqualified because there have been more than 100 electoral complaints which need to be investigated….
Wissanu noted that disqualifications over electoral violations would change seat counts.
That sounds like the junta plan to use the EC to hone Palang Pracharath’s coalition. It will all be opaque.
And he added that “even with a signed agreement, things can change on a daily basis…”, suggesting that Palang Pracharath is likely to enter a bidding war for small parties.
Then there was the Palang Pracharath dummy spit. Its spokesman said that the announcement was illegitimate as it was his party that should be doing the announcing, claiming electoral legitimacy. Then a remarkable claim. He declared that Puea Thai’s Sudarat Keyuraphan was not an MP and questioned her being proposed as premier.
Have these dolts forgotten that they are nominating Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha? He’s not an MP either.
Political Prisoners in Thailand 