The Senate has suggested a discussion aiming for the political middle ground after a pro-royalist group on Monday submitted a petition to the Senate insisting on keeping Section 112 of the Criminal Code, better known as the lese majeste law, unchanged.
After rumours about a protest to support Move Forward Party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat to become prime minister surfaced, Senator Srisak Wattanapornmongkol said that many Senate members are now worried about the public becoming bored about potential clashes between groups with different political stances.
"We believe that many Thai people might have become bored about the damage from protests as they do not move the country forward at all," added Sen Srisak.
The senator supported a discussion about Section 112, with some parties except the caretaker government volunteering to become a mediator.
Earlier in the morning, a pro-royalist activist group went to the parliament building to submit a petition to Senate Speaker Pornpetch Wichitcholchai about keeping Section 112 intact.
The group was led by Prayoon Jitpetch, the chairman of the Love King People's Committee, who was joined by more than 500 supporters.
According to Mr Prayoon, discussing the revocation of Section 112 has become a recent political trend.
"This is our group's main purpose, and we are against its revocation for the sake of protecting the monarchy," he said.
Mr Prayoon added that the group was also against the move pressuring senators into voting for a new prime minister.
The petition was accepted by Senator Akanit Muensawat, who said that he trusted the Senate members' ability to make a choice about a future premier that benefits the country.
Regarding the senators' decision, Sen Akanit said that it was too early for him to talk about the matter as not all MPs-elect have been certified by the Election Committee (EC) yet, so the actual MP numbers are not yet confirmed.
Sen Akanit also said there was no such thing as "a majority decision" by the Senate at this stage regarding who should be the next prime minister.
The Senate has not received any contact from the MFP yet, said Sen Akanit, who added that Mr Pita's iTV shareholding issue wouldn't affect their eventual decision.
