Pheu Thai party prepared to dissolve parliament

BANGKOK: Thailand's ruling Pheu Thai party is still seeking to form the next government but is prepared to dissolve parliament, a senior party official said on Tuesday, a move that could trigger a general election. In a sign of deepening political turmoil as two rival camps vied to form the next government, Pheu Thai Secretary General Sorawong Thienthong said the party was weighing its options between nominating its own candidate Chaikasem Nitisiri for the premiership, or calling a new election.

Sorawong's remarks came as People's Party, the biggest force in parliament, met for a second day to discuss who it might back to form the next government, either Pheu Thai, or Bhumjaithai, a renegade party that quit the governing coalition in June and is mounting its own challenge. "If the People's Party have the decision to vote for Anutin, we will proceed with the process," Sorawong told reporters, referring to Bhumjaithai's leader Anutin Charnvirakul. There are conflicting opinions among law experts in Thailand as to whether a caretaker government has the authority to seek house dissolution. — Reuters