AFP

The reformist party that won Thailand's recent election said Friday it would back a rival candidate to become prime minister after its own leader was blocked by the military and pro-royalist establishment.

The Move Forward Party (MFP), which rode to victory on a wave of support from young and urban voters frustrated by a decade of army-backed rule, said its priority was not to take the PM job but to restore civilian government.

After MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat was knocked back in a leadership vote last week, the party said it would now support the nominee from its coalition partner Pheu Thai, which came second in May's election.

"The most important thing is not that Pita will become PM, but the fact that Thailand would be able to become a democratic country," MFP secretary-general Chaitawat Tulathon said.

"MFP will allow the second party, Pheu Thai, to become the main party of the eight coalition parties," Chaitawat said.

"In the next parliamentary meeting, MFP will vote for PT's PM candidate, just like PT voted for MFP's PM candidate."

Pheu Thai, seen as a vehicle for the Shinawatra political clan -- whose members include two former prime ministers ousted by military coups in 2006 and 2014 -- will name its candidate for prime minister on Wednesday, the eve of parliament's next vote.

- Pita suspended –

To become prime minister, a candidate must be approved by a majority of both houses of parliament -- the 500 elected MPs and the 250 senators appointed by the last junta.

Pita managed 324 votes across the two houses in last week's ballot, with only 13 of the military-backed senators supporting him.

After talks with the other seven coalition parties on Friday, Pheu Thai party chief Chonlanan Srikaew said they would try to woo more senators in order to reach the 375 votes needed for a majority.

If this looked unlikely, Chonlanan said they would approach other lower house parties to try to get their votes, and would also consider breaking up the coalition.

Crucial to any deal will be the thorny issue of lese-majeste.

MFP's commitment to reform the royal defamation laws earned it the opposition of the kingdom's establishment, and on Wednesday Pita was suspended from parliament by the Constitutional Court.

The court decided to proceed with a case that could see him disqualified as an MP altogether for owning shares in a media company.

Lawmakers are forbidden from doing so under Thailand's charter, though the television station in question has not broadcast since 2007.

Caretaker Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who came to power in the 2014 coup, called for calm on Thursday as simmering anger over the thwarting of Pita's PM bid began to give way to street protests.

Property tycoon Srettha Thavisin, one of Pheu Thai's three PM candidates, now looks to be in a strong position to take the job in the next vote, expected on Thursday.

A successful entrepreneur liked by business leaders among the Thai elite, Srettha is seen as more palatable to the establishment than Pita.

But pro-military parties have signalled they will not endorse any government that includes MFP, adding further hurdles to the coalition's path.

AFP