Thai king asks parliamentarians to serve nation and people with 'best interests' at heart
Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn opens a state ceremony for the opening of the first parliamentary session on Jul 3, 2023, following the country's general election in May. (Photo: Thailand Public Relations Department)
BANGKOK: Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn on Monday (Jul 3) asked parliamentarians to perform their duties with the nation’s and the people’s best interests at heart during the state ceremony for the opening of the first parliamentary session, following the country’s general election in May.
The monarch presided over the ceremony at the parliament building with Queen Suthida.
Caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his Cabinet members were also present, along with members of parliament (MPs), presidents of the Senate, Supreme Court, Administrative Court and Constitutional Court, and representatives from various organisations.
“I ask all of you who are members of this parliament to always be mindful that you have been assigned by the people to represent people in the whole country in exercising the legislative power in order to rule and pass laws for the government to use as principles in public administration,” the king said.
“Therefore, how much the country will develop depends on your intellect, ability, honesty and sincerity to perform all duties while placing the utmost importance on the nation’s and the people’s best interests.
“If all of you always remain mindful of this, you will be able to perform your duties successfully, which will truly benefit and provide development and stability for the people as well as the country,” the king added.
The new parliamentary session began after Thailand held a general election on May 14, where the Move Forward Party clinched an unexpected win with 151 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.
Four hundred MPs were chosen in constituency elections while the other 100 came from the national party lists – a type of proportional representation where multiple candidates are elected from a list prepared by their respective parties, based on the total votes the party received.
Thai parliament is comprised of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives serves as president of the parliament while the president of the Senate serves as vice-president of the parliament.
On Tuesday, newly elected MPs will vote to select the next House Speaker as well as the First Deputy Speaker and the Second Deputy Speaker.
“I wish order and success for all the parliamentary operations,” the king said.
