Thai high court suspends prime minister candidate and will rule on whether he broke election law

By GRANT PECK and JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court has agreed to suspend Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, a candidate to become prime minister, from his duties as a member of Parliament pending its ruling on whether he violated election law. The court’s announcement Wednesday came ahead of a likely second vote in Parliament whether to confirm Pita as prime minister. His party was the top finisher in May’s general election and assembled an eight-party coalition that won 312 seats in the House of Representatives. However, the coalition failed to win enough support in an initial vote last week from the non-elected, military-appointed Senate, which votes together with the lower house to name the new prime minister.