Ông Pita không giành đủ phiếu để thành thủ tướng Thái Lan

Pita, a former technology executive who had positioned himself as a champion of reform, was unable to muster (tập hợp, tập trung) enough support from senators. His party won elections in May, and the victory had challenged not only the generals (tướng quân đội) but also the nation’s powerful monarchy (hoàng gia quyền lực).

As Parliament prepared to hold a second vote on Wednesday, the political fate of Pita, and his coalition, hangs in the balance. He received only 324 combined votes in the House of Representatives and the Senate — short of the 376 he needed to win the premiership.

“This is déjà vu,” a political science professor said, referring to the cycles of elections, protests, coups and crackdowns that have occurred in Thailand since 2007. Supporters (người ủng hộ) of Pita’s coalition (liên minh) gathered (tụ tập) outside the Parliament building in Bangkok where the vote was held, and some had vowed to hit the streets in protest if he did not win enough votes to become prime minister.

What’s next: A likely scenario is that Pheu Thai — another party in the coalition that backed Pita in the elections — would field Srettha Thavisin, a property tycoon (tỷ phú bất động sản) who is considered a more palatable (dễ chịu, có thể chấp nhận được) candidate (ứng cử viên) among Thailand’s military establishment. The tumultuous (biến động) week ahead may or may not end with a new prime minister in charge.