Pita Limjaroenrat, leader and prime ministerial candidate of the Move Forward Party (MFP), will likely receive fewer than five votes from the Senate in the parliamentary election for the new prime minister, according to a senator.
The dust has already settled, and Mr Pita will be hard pushed to draw five or more votes from the 250 senators during the vote, Kittisak Rattanawaraha, a deputy chairman of the Senate committee on political development and public participation, said on Wednesday.
Most of the coup-appointed senators seem to have decided they will either vote against Mr Pita or abstain, he added.
The senator said he suspects Mr Pita may not be the only candidate entering the race.
The vote is expected on July 13.
Any party that has won 25 House seats or more can nominate up to three candidates.
"I'm on the side of democracy with the King as head of state," Mr Kittisak said.
The MFP has vowed to press for an amendment to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, or the lese majeste law. This is believed to be the prime reason why many senators will not back Mr Pita in his bid to become prime minister.
In the event the MFP, which won 151 House seats in the May 14 general election, fails to form a new coalition, the party that won the second-highest number of House seats should then pick up where the MFP left off and put together a coalition government in its place, he said, referring to the Pheu Thai Party with its 141 MPs.
However, Mr Kittisak said the Senate has a clear stance that it will not interfere with ongoing efforts to form a new government.
"I've made it clear from the beginning that a minority government is highly unlikely," he said.
It was reported earlier that some parties in the previous government may try to establish a government among their ranks, despite being in the minority.
A candidate must capture at least 376 votes, either from MPs alone or from both MPs and senators, to become prime minister. There are 750 parliamentarians -- 500 MPs, and 250 senators.
Mr Kittisak said some degree of political unrest is likely, no matter who becomes the new leader of the country.
Mr Pita claimed on Tuesday that he had enough support in the Senate to ensure his election as prime minister.
He said he hoped the Senate would adhere to the principle of not going against the people's wishes.
