Thai court suspends Pita as lawmaker as parliament votes on PM
Thailand's Constitutional Court ordered a temporary suspension of prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat from parliament on Wednesday (19 July) after accepting a case against him alleging he was unqualified to run in a 14 May election.
Pita, who was due to contest a parliamentary vote on the premiership on Wednesday, has argued his ownership of shares in a media company was not a violation of election rules.
He has 15 days to respond, the court said in a statement.
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Pita's election-winning Move Forward Party said the suspension should not affect Pita's nomination for the prime ministerial vote, which rival politicians have been seeking to block him from.
The 42-year-old, US-educated liberal needs the backing of more than half of the bicameral parliament to be endorsed as the next prime minister but must overcome fierce resistance from a military at odds with his party's anti-establishment ambitions.
He lost his initial bid last week after being blocked by the army-appointed Senate in a joint vote on the premiership.
