Thailand’s election commission says opposition lawmaker Pita Limjaroenrat, a top candidate for prime minister, should be disqualified because he violated election laws.
The case has been referred to Thailand’s Constitutional Court for a final ruling.
In a statement issued Wednesday, one day before Pita is expected to run in parliament for the prime minister’s post, the commission said there is evidence the leader of the Move Forward Party owns shares in a media company, a violation that would bar him from running for office.
The decision comes nearly two months after the Move Forward Party pulled off an upset victory in parliamentary elections, giving the eight-party coalition 312 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives as voters rejected candidates from military-backed parties which have ruled Thailand for nine years.
The commission also said Pita should be suspended from parliament for holding shares in iTV, which has been defunct for years.
Pita is still 64 votes short of the total needed to become prime minister. He would have to find them from parties not part of his coalition in the lower house of parliament, or in the conservative military-backed Senate, which makes his confirmation doubtful.
Pita could also be banned from politics and faces several years in prison if he is tried and convicted on the allegations.
Some information for this report was provided by the Associated Press, Reuters and the French news agency, AFP.
