Pita Limjaroenrat's Move Forward party won the most votes in May's election after promising bold changes to remove the military from politics and overhaul a law that shields the powerful monarchy from criticism. But the party is strongly opposed by the conservative establishment and has faced significant challenges in trying to take power.
Pita was yesterday expected to begin a second attempt to secure enough parliamentary support to become prime minister, but on the same day the constitutional court announced his suspension from parliament after accepting a case that alleged he was not eligible to run in the election.
Addressing parliament, Pita said he would respect the court order and urged other MPs to serve the public well. "I would like to say goodbye until we meet again," he said, raising his fist as he left the assembly floor to cheers from his allies.
Referring to the date of the election, he said: "I think Thailand has changed and will never be the same as it was before 14 May. The people have won half of this journey and there is another half to go." Pita is temporarily suspended pending a court ruling, and has 15 days to respond, the court said in a statement.
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