Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas & reviews for this holiday season
Start Browsing
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
You Witness
The Great Debate
Blogs
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Vote for Thai PM likely next week, official says
Tue Dec 9, 2008 6:21am EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Chalathip Thirasoonthrakul
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's parliament could vote next week for a new prime minister, a parliamentary official said on Tuesday, as both the main party in the outgoing government and the main opposition party claimed they had enough votes to win. "After the king has approved the request to open a special parliamentary session, the House Speaker is likely to set a date next week for the vote for prime minister," Pitoon Poomhiran, secretary-general of the lower house, told reporters.
He said earlier he had already submitted the request to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
A vote is needed because Somchai Wongsawat was forced to step down as prime minister last week when his party and two others in the ruling coalition were disbanded by the courts for electoral fraud stemming from general elections a year ago.
Somchai and several ministers have been banned from politics for five years but other lawmakers have simply transferred to new "shell" parties.
The opposition Democrat Party called on Monday for an urgent parliamentary session to elect a new prime minister, claiming it had won over enough lawmakers from other parties to form a coalition government.
Four small partners in the previous six-party coalition government reiterated on Tuesday they would vote for Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva as prime minister.
"Each party is confident that the new coalition government of five parties and one faction will have enough votes," Sanan Kachonprasart, a leader of the Chart Thai Pattana party, said.
The Democrats and their new allies claim to have 260 votes in the 480-seat parliament.
Puea Thai, the new name for the biggest party in the old coalition, has said it still has enough support to cobble together a new coalition, but some of its members seem to have defected already.
Newin Chidchob, the leader of an influential faction in that party, said on Tuesday 30 of the 37 MPs in his group would vote for the Democrats' Abhisit as prime minister.
"I can assure you that my people will vote for the Democrats, as the majority of people wish to see," said Newin, who was barred from politics for five years when his party was banned in a previous vote fraud ruling in 2007.
The prospect of a new government helped the stock market on Tuesday after a period of turbulence during which anti-government protesters blockaded Bangkok's airports for a week until December 3, stranding tens of thousands of tourists.
The main stock index ended 3.22 percent higher.
"The afternoon rally was mainly driven by political factors after the four parties and the Newin faction said they would back the Democrats," Syrus strategist Jakrit Jaroenmethachai said.
Puea Thai is the latest incarnation of a party grouping allies of Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted as prime minister by the military in a September 2006 coup and now lives in exile. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
China's Chery halts Chrysler talks, cool to U.S. assets
Also on Reuters
Lebanon losing its battle to keep the lights on
Slideshow
Audio Slideshow: SUVs at altar, church prays for bailout
Homeowners redefaulting after getting aid
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
GM says it "disappointed" and "betrayed" consumers
White House and Democrats push for auto bailout deal
Frannie, Freddie execs were warned of problems: report
The kiss of deaf - Chinese man ruptures girlfriend's eardrum
Sony to cut 16,000 jobs, slash $1.1 billion in costs
Regulators scratch heads over housing crisis
U.S. nears car rescue as China, Europe mull stimulus
Greek PM calls for political unity against riots | Video
Fighter jet crash kills 3 on ground
Brain-boosting drugs: Why not?, experts say
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Military jet crashes
Riots still raging in Greece
Democrats submit auto loan plan
Gitmo's future in doubt
Talk of the Town - Ledger honored
Riots spread after Greek boy's death
Bush talks Iraq, regrets
Rebuilding the economy
Blackwater under fire
Hunger in Haiti
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Congo
Death all around
Witness
Award winning Reuters photographer Finbarr O'Reilly recounts the horrors of living on the front line of the conflict in eastern Congo. Blog
Slideshow: Images from Congo
Video: The long wait for refugees
Blog: Caught in Chad rebel offensive
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.