During the first meeting of parliament, only one contested vote took place. Wan Muhammad Noor Matha, the leader of the Prachachart Party, was nominated as speaker of the House of Representatives unopposed; Pheu Thai got its pick for the second deputy speakership similarly without incident. 

Only Move Forward’s choice for the first deputy speakership, Padipat Suntiphada, faced opposition when the United Thai Nation Party forced a division by nominating a competitor. It was the first time that the coalition Move Forward had assembled was to face a parliamentary test, and by the looks of it they passed with flying colors. Despite the use of a secret ballot, Padipat received 312 votes — revealing that the coalition had remained totally unified. The cobras — Thai parlance for those who defy the party line — have yet to rear their heads. 

But the smooth first day in parliament belies the far deeper tensions that preceded it. For weeks, Move Forward and Pheu Thai had been engaged in interminable negotiations over who would become the speaker. The battle had been unseemly, to say the least.

Click here to read the full piece at Thai Enquirer.

(Cover image credits)