Move Forward Party’s leader Pita Limjaroenrat failed to receive the majority vote on the first day of Thailand’s prime ministerial vote on Thursday as most of the senate chose to abstain their votes.
As of 17:52 local time in Thailand, the unofficial voting results for Pita to become the prime minister showed an approval of 324 (13 from senators), abstention of 198 and disapproval of 182 votes.
The parliament will proceed with the recount afterward.
The coalition government led by the Move Forward Party (MFP), who won the majority vote in the general election in May, has 312 MPs from a total of 500 MPs, which could easily win the vote if not for the majority of the 250 senators abstaining their votes.
The 250 senators were approved during the reign of Prayut Chan-o-cha who took control of the country by a coup in 2014 and won the election in 2018.
Most of the analysts did not expect the voting to be done in the first round and could drag on for weeks, which would create volatility in the Thai stock market in the short-term.
In the event that the MFP fails to lead the coalition, Tisco Securities anticipates a modest recovery in stocks negatively impacted by the MFP’s policies. However, as political uncertainty grows, the market is expected to become more volatile in the short term, with the degree of volatility possibly depending on whether MFP supporters would take to the streets for a protest.
Tisco recommends keeping more cash and bottom fishing for domestic plays and energy. The firm suggests bottom-fishing for value businesses, particularly those involved in domestic equities like banking, retail, and travel and tourism if the market corrects.
PTTEP and OR are suggested, and a comeback from PTTGC is anticipated, as the policy from MFP affecting some energy stocks could fail to be implemented.
The following stocks are included in the long-only basket: SCB, BBL, CPALL, ADVANC, AP, MINT, BDMS, OR, SISB, and MENA.
