BANGKOK: Thailand’s largest opposition party was set to hold a kingmaking summit Monday to decide who to back as the nation’s next prime minister, after the incumbent was ousted by court order.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra was on Friday sacked as prime minister by Thailand’s Constitutional Court after it found she had breached ethical standards during a border row with Cambodia.
The ruling has left Thailand with only an acting prime minister and a caretaker cabinet as minority factions jostle to secure backing to form a new government as soon as Wednesday.
Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai Party and the conservative Bhumjaithai Party – which abandoned her coalition over the border row – are both now courting the People’s Party’s crucial 143 parliamentary seats.
But the People’s Party has said its backing will be conditional on parliament being dissolved for fresh elections within four months, paving the way for yet more political turmoil.
