BANGKOK: Thailand's Pita Limjaroenrat has resigned as the leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP) to pave the way for a new chief to be the opposition leader in parliament.
MFP, which was led by 43-year-old Pita, had won 151 seats in the May 14 General Election.
However, he was suspended as a Member of Parliament (MP) by the Constitution Court in July.
Pita wrote on his social media accounts that under the current constitution, the leader of the opposition must be an MP.
"I am still suspended and I cannot perform my duties as an MP as well as opposition leader in the Parliament in the near future.
"Therefore, I decided to resign as the party leader of MFP and the party will elect a new MP to be the opposition leader," he wrote.
Pita assured that he would remain with MFP and work for the people.
"Regardless of my status, I'm not going anywhere. I will work with my best strength and abilities to drive forward the change agendas that we want together," he said.
Pita is the sole MFP's prime ministerial candidate but failed in his bid to become Thailand's next prime minister as there was not enough support for him in the bicameral parliament when the vote for the prime minister was called in July.
Subsequently, the Constitutional Court ordered a temporary suspension of Pita. The court decision came after it accepted a case against Pita alleging he was ineligible to run for office because he held shares in a media company when he registered his candidacy for the general election last May 14.
Under the Thai constitution, MPs are prohibited from owning media shares. – Bernama