Pita Limjaroenrat Chaithawat Tulathon The 2023 Move Forward Party leadership election was triggered on 15 September 2023 after incumbent leader Pita Limjaroenrat announced his intention to step down as leader of the Move Forward Party amidst his suspension as a Member of the House of Representatives by the Constitutional Court.

Pita had served as party leader for three years, leading Move Forward to victory in the 2023 general election.

Move Forward would be relegated to the opposition after their agreement with their main coalition partner, the Pheu Thai Party, fell apart.

Pita Limjaroenrat, a member of the House of Representatives since 2019, had led the Move Forward Party (MFP) since his unanimous election in 2020.

Reaching out to fellow pro-democracy parties, Move Forward formed a coalition in an attempt of a government formation.

[6] 324 members of the National Assembly voted to approve Pita's premiership (311 of which were MPs and 13 of which were junta-appointed senators), 182 disapproved and 199 abstained.

[7] Protestors criticized the system of an electing the prime minister as undemocratic, as the desired government was effectively blocked from power by the Senate.

On the same day, the Constitutional Court unanimously voted to accept a case against Pita regarding his inherited shares of the defunct iTV.

He cited his inability to perform duties in the House, pending a ruling regarding his suspension status as an MP in the Constitutional Court.

[15] Chaithawat Tulathon, the party’s Secretary-General and second party-list MP, was speculated as Pita’s likely successor shortly after his resignation announcement.

[20][15] By 19 September, Chaithawat had consolidated enough support within the party to guarantee his leadership, as Sirikanya would ultimately decline to run herself.

[27] Although a general meeting of the party did occur on 6 April, no leadership election was held, and Chaithawat remained as opposition leader.