BANGKOK: Thailand’s opposition parties, which trounced their military-allied rivals in this week’s election, met for coalition talks on Wednesday as the liberal Move Forward Party, which won the most votes, looks to form a government.
Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat was seen greeting senior officials from five other parties at a Bangkok restaurant before ushering them upstairs for closed-door talks.
Sunday’s vote saw Move Forward come in first ahead of another opposition party, the political heavyweight Pheu Thai, in a major blow to the establishment’s pro-military parties led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.
Pita earlier this week said that together with five other opposition parties, his coalition will be able control about 310 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.
The parties Pita has approached are Pheu Thai, Thai Sang Thai, Prachachart, Seri Ruam Thai and Fair parties.
Pheu Thai, which won the last five general elections but got pushed out of power each time, secured 141 seats, according to the latest projections, only 10 fewer than Move Forward.
However, a military-drafted constitution requires more than half of votes in a joint sitting of a bicameral legislature for him to become prime minister. He would need votes either from government parties or an unelected 250-member Senate who have a record of supporting Prayuth and conservative forces.
Analysts expect weeks to months of talks and dealmaking as parties jostle to form a government.
On Wednesday, some Thais questioned the senate’s role in electing a prime minister, asking ‘why do we need a senate’ on social media like Twitter.
Senior officials from Pheu Thai have urged other hold outs to support a Pita premiership.
Thailand’s opposition parties meet for coalition talks
https://arab.news/m6ek4
Thailand’s opposition parties meet for coalition talks
- Analysts expect weeks to months of talks and dealmaking as parties jostle to form a government
Trump to meet Venezuelan opposition leader Machado after praising its government
- Machado finds herself competing for Trump’s ear with members of Venezuela’s government
- The lunch marks the first time the two have met in person
WASHINGTON: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado arrived at the White House for lunch with Donald Trump on Thursday, a meeting that could affect how the US president seeks to shape the South American country’s political future.
Machado, who fled Venezuela in a daring seaborne escape in December, finds herself competing for Trump’s ear with members of Venezuela’s government and seeking to ensure she has a role in governing the nation going forward.
The lunch marks the first time the two have met in person.
HOPES OF MOVE TO DEMOCRACY
After the US captured Venezuela’s longtime leader, Nicolas Maduro, in a snatch-and-grab operation this month, various opposition figures, members of Venezuela’s diaspora and politicians throughout the US and Latin America have expressed hope that Venezuela will begin the process of democratization.
But for now, Trump has said he is focused on economically rebuilding Venezuela and securing US access to the country’s oil. The day after the January 3 operation, he expressed doubts that Machado had the backing needed to return to the country and govern, telling reporters, “She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Trump has on several occasions praised Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela’s interim president, telling Reuters in an interview on Wednesday, “She’s been very good to deal with.”
Machado was banned from running in Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election by a top court stacked with government allies. Maduro claimed victory, but outside observers widely believe Edmundo Gonzalez, an opposition figure backed by Machado, in fact won more votes by a substantial margin. While the current government has freed dozens of political prisoners in recent days, outside groups and advocates have said the scale of the releases has been exaggerated by Caracas.
One potential topic of conversation for Thursday’s White House meeting will be the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to Machado last month, a snub to Trump, who has long sought the award. Machado has suggested she would give the prize to the US president for having deposed Maduro, though the Norwegian Nobel Institute has said the prize cannot be transferred, shared or revoked.
Asked if he wanted Machado to give him the prize, Trump told Reuters on Wednesday: “No, I didn’t say that. She won the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Pressed on what he would do if she brought the prize nonetheless, he responded: “Well, that’s what I’m hearing. I don’t know, but I shouldn’t be the one to say.”
“I think we’re just going to talk,” Trump told Reuters. “And I haven’t met her. She’s a very nice woman. I think we’re just going to talk basics.”
After her visit with Trump, Machado will meet with a bipartisan group of senior senators on Capitol Hill in the afternoon. The opposition leader has generally found more enthusiastic allies in Congress than in the White House, with some lawmakers having expressed concerns about Trump’s dismissals of her ability to govern.
