The results of the vote in the Thai House of Representatives announced at 3:51 p.m. on September 5 showed that Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul had achieved the necessary number of votes to become the next prime minister of Thailand.
Anutin's chances of becoming Thailand's third prime minister in just over two years were almost certain before the vote, when he won the support of 289 lawmakers out of 492 members of the lower house, much higher than the 247 needed to win a majority.
His alliance has 146 lawmakers and the People's Party chose to stay in the opposition, but with the support of 143 votes, Mr. Anutin could easily get the necessary number of votes.
In this race for the Thai prime minister's seat, Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul will face candidate Chaikasem Nitisiri of the rival bloc led by the Pheu Thai Party, supported by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul has served in many cabinets through many stages of Thai politics, from Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra to Mr. prayuth Chan-Ocha, and most recently Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra. For nearly a decade, Mr. Anutin has played the role of deciding the fate of the alliance, taking advantage of networks in localities and business relationships.
The race to form a new government in Thailand comes after the Constitutional Court ruled to remove Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office for unethical conduct. The provisional government headed by Pheu Thai Party later failed in its attempt to dissolve parliament.
When he becomes prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, 58, will lead a coalition of parties supporting the current regime, which previously blocked the previous People's Party - the Progressive Party - from taking power after the 2023 election.
According to the agreement with the People's Party, Mr. Anutin must dissolve the parliament within 4 months from the date of his oath of office and make a statement of his policy.
The new election will give the People's Party the opportunity to win more seats. The party leads its opponents by a large margin in polls in Thailand and Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut is ranked as the most supported leader to become prime minister.
However, the party has no prime minister candidates after its predecessor Tien Duoc was dissolved and the party's only candidate, Pita Limjaroenrat, has been banned from politics for 10 years.
