Thailand: Thailand’s parliament has officially appointed Mr. Wan Muhamad Noor Matha from the Prachachart Party as the speaker of the newly elected House of Representatives.

Mr. Wan Noor’s appointment is viewed as a compromise between the two major parties, Move Forward and Pheu Thai, who are coalition partners but had conflicting interests regarding the speaker position.

Wan Noor was the sole candidate proposed for the role, eliminating the need for a voting process to endorse the 79-year-old politician.

This compromise on the house speaker role aims to ease tensions between the progressive Move Forward and the populist Pheu Thai parties, which had engaged in weeks-long negotiations over the speakership.

Both parties achieved significant victories over their conservative and pro-military opponents in the May 14 election, with Move Forward securing 151 seats and Pheu Thai obtaining 141 seats.

Move Forward and Pheu Thai, along with six other parties, including Wan Noor’s Prachachart Party with 10 seats in the lower chamber, have formed an alliance. The Prachachart Party leader expressed his commitment to fair and transparent execution of his duties, considering draft laws and petitions to enhance the lives of all Thai citizens.

Once Wan Noor takes up the post, among his first tasks will be to table a joint session of parliament to decide on a prime minister, which requires the votes of more than half of the 750 members of the bicameral legislature.

The alliance is backing Move Forward leader Mr. Pita Limjaroenrat, 42, to become prime minister. Mr. Pita needs 376 votes to secure the post, but he currently has 312.

The Move Forward leader will need 64 more votes from either rival parties or members of the conservative-learning Senate that was appointed by the military and has previously locked horns with Move Forward over some of its policies.

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