The selection of the new House speaker will take place on July 4 as the Move Forward Party (MFP) and the Pheu Thai Party remain deadlocked over who gets the position.
The Secretariat of the House of Representatives on Thursday issued a letter asking all MPs to attend the first House session on the date.
According to its official website, the selection of a speaker and two deputies will be on the agenda of the first session.
Pornpit Petchcharoen, secretary-general of the House of Representatives, also sent invitations to all MPs and senators yesterday asking them to attend the state opening of parliament on July 3. Their Majesties the King and Queen will preside over it.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said the new House speaker and two deputies must be chosen within 10 days from the opening of parliament or by July 13.
He said the selection of a new speaker should not be dragged out as it only requires the support of a majority in the Lower House, whereas the new prime minister will need the support of both MPs and senators.
The MFP and Pheu Thai were originally scheduled to thrash out who would take the House speaker role on Wednesday, but the MFP postponed the meeting after Pheu Thai suggested it would not budge.
Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew said on Thursday that both parties will meet again on Sunday to discuss the matter, and a meeting of the eight coalition parties will be held on the same day.
"We are the runner-up party [in the May 14 vote], and we respect the first-placed party," Dr Cholnan said, referring to the MFP.
The MFP finished first in last month's poll with 151 seats, 10 more than Pheu Thai. The two parties and six others have formed a 313-member prospective coalition that hopes to be the next government.
"We have put forward our proposal for consideration by the first-placed party. This is not a battle for the [speaker] position. We are not pressuring [the MFP]. We're only asking for it ... We have not received any answer yet," Dr Cholnan said.
"But if the MFP refuses to give it to us, we have to consider what we should do next. But we insist that this is the principle of a democratic government," he said.
Asked if Pheu Thai would consider pulling out of the MFP-led coalition, Dr Cholnan said the party is bound by the mandate of the 25 million people who voted for both parties. He said it was important to hold talks to iron out any differences.
Asked if the coalition should nominate only one candidate for House speaker instead of two or three, Dr Cholnan said that would be discussed by the eight parties shortly, and they must all abide by the conclusion reached.
Meanwhile, Deputy Pheu Thai leader Phumtham Wechayachai on Thursday dismissed a report regarding a new power-sharing proposal.
Under the proposal, the Pheu Thai Party would give up one cabinet seat in exchange for the House speakership, meaning that it would take 13 cabinet positions and the House speaker role, while the MFP would receive 15 cabinet seats and the prime minister's position.
Mr Phumtham said Pheu Thai still insists on its original proposal in which the two parties would be allocated 14 cabinet seats each, with the MFP entitled to the prime minister's position and Pheu Thai taking the House speaker role.
MFP secretary-general Chaithawat Tulathon said party MPs are ready to attend the House meeting on July 4 to select the new speaker.
He said he believed the selection would go smoothly and the MFP and Pheu Thai would be able to end their stalemate before that meeting and proceed with the formation of a coalition government.
