New opposition leader receives royal endorsement

People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut received royal endorsement as the new leader of the opposition in a ceremony at parliament on Tuesday morning.
Mr Natthaphong is the 11th leader of the opposition in the Thai House of Representatives. Royal endorsement was announced on Sept 25. A group of People’s Party MPs attended Tuesday’s official ceremony.
The People’s Party has the most MPs on the opposition benches, and no party member serves on the cabinet, or as House speaker or as deputy speaker. These are the conditions for the appointment of an opposition leader.
Mr Natthaphong said he would be straightforward in the checking of the government’s performance, and that a censure debate was likely early next year.
Mr Natthaphong is a former MP of the Future Forward and Move Forward parties, which were both dissolved by he court. He was among the Move Forward MPs who subsequently joined the People’s Party, and was elected party leader in August.
The previous opposition leader was Chaithawat Tulathon. He was banned from politics for 10 years when the court ordered the dissolution of the Move Forward Party.