The leader of the Forward Party did not receive enough votes to become Prime Minister of Thailand.

According to CNA, Pita, the leader of the winning party, the Forward Party, despite having no rivals in the race, failed to secure the necessary support, with many members of the Thai Parliament abstaining or voting against him.

According to the plan, the Thai Parliament will hold another round of voting next week, and Mr. Pita may try his luck again if he is nominated once more.

By July 13th, the likelihood of Mr. Pita leading an eight-party coalition in government seemed increasingly slim.

Despite being the only prime ministerial candidate nominated in the Thai Parliament, he still faces the major challenge of securing the necessary support from both houses.

His coalition currently holds 312 seats out of the 500 in the House of Representatives. But for Pita to become Prime Minister of Thailand, he needs the approval of more than half of both houses, including an additional 250 members of the Senate. Securing this majority of votes is difficult in the military-appointed Senate, as the Forward Party is pushing for reforms to Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, which prohibits defamation or insults against the monarchy.

Another setback emerged on July 12th, when Thailand's election commission recommended that the Constitutional Court strip Pita of his legislative status for violating shareholding regulations, prompting hundreds of protesters to gather in Bangkok, raising warnings of impending moves to prevent the En Marche party from taking power.

The ruling coalition will now have to decide whether to continue supporting Pita in another vote scheduled for July 19, or to nominate a different candidate. This will be a test of the coalition's cohesion as it seeks to form a successor government.