Thailand's Pita suspended from parliament in latest blow to PM bid

Thailand's parliament refused on Wednesday to allow progressive challenger Pita Limjareonrat to be given a second ballot for the prime ministership, said the house speaker. "Pita can't be nominated twice in this parliamentary session," the speaker said over howls of protest from the chamber.

Earlier on Wednesday, Thailand's constitutional court suspended reformist Limjaroenrat in another blow to his hopes of becoming the nation's next leader after a stunning election win.

Pita's Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats in May polls thanks to young and urban Thais frustrated by nearly a decade of army-backed rule, but its efforts to form a government have stumbled since the May polls.

The court issued its suspension just as Pita was sitting in parliament for another day of deliberations on whether he could become prime minister, after his first attempt fell dozens of votes short in a parliamentary sitting last week.

"I would like to say goodbye until we meet again," the 42-year-old told the chamber, raising his fist as he left the assembly floor to the cheers of fellow lawmakers.

Thailand's conservative establishment vehemently opposes the party's economic reform platform and its pledge to soften the kingdom's strict royal defamation laws.

On Wednesday morning the court said it would proceed with a case that could see Pita disqualified from parliament altogether for owning shares in a media company, forcing his suspension.

Lawmakers are forbidden from owning shares in media companies under Thailand's constitution, though the television station in question has not broadcast since 2007.

Other roadblocks have been thrown in front of his Pita's candidacy.