Protesters in the Thai capital calls on senators to approve vote winners’ choice for prime minister

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Hundreds of people have rallied in  the Thai capital Bangkok to demand that conservative members of the Senate stop blocking the naming of a prime minister belonging to a winning coalition from May’s general election, a stance that risks a potentially destabilizing deadlock. Protesters braved heavy rain to show their anger toward the senators, who were appointed by the military and pride themselves as defenders of traditional royalist values. The surprise election winner, the Move Forward Party, failed in two efforts to have its leader Pita Limjaroenrat confirmed as the next prime minister, largely due to lack of support from senators, who are disturbed by the party’s reformist platform.