A veteran of Muslim politics is the new speaker of the Thai parliament.

After a week-long standoff in Thailand regarding the head of the House of Representatives of the newly elected parliament, the appointment of the experienced Muslim politician Wan Muhammad Noor Matha as speaker has been announced.

The 79-year-old leader of the Prasat Party was the only candidate for the position on Tuesday, and therefore, no voting was required for his approval. Wan Muhammad Noor previously served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of Parliament from 1996 to 2000. He also held the positions of Minister of Interior, Transport, Agriculture, and Cooperatives in Thaksin Shinawatra's government.

He was nominated by the leader of the "Move Forward" party, Pita Limjaroenrat, who led the progressive party to a stunning victory in the elections on May 14. King Maha Vajiralongkorn opened a new session of the House of Representatives, consisting of 500 members, on Monday, which is set to elect the new Prime Minister of the country and form a new government.

The undisputed appointment of Wan Muhammad signifies the end of the dispute over the speaker's position between the "Move Forward" party and the Pheu Thai party. Apparently, a consensus was reached on Monday, with the "Move Forward" party agreeing to the position of first deputy speaker, while Pheu Thai accepted the second deputy position.

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In a joint statement, the "Move Forward" party and Pheu Thai stated that the consensus involves uniting coalition parties to form a government and appointing Pita as prime minister. Having secured 151 seats in the elections on May 14 and more than 14.2 million votes, the "Move Forward" party, along with seven other parties, formed a coalition holding 312 seats out of 500 in the House of Representatives.

Despite the favorable numbers, there is no guarantee that the "Move Forward" party coalition will be able to form a government, as they need to secure another 64 votes from the 250 senators. However, many senators have expressed their reluctance to vote for Pita due to the anti-establishment agenda of the "Move Forward" party, which includes a proposal to amend the lese majesty law, also known as Article 112 of the Criminal Code, concerning insults to the monarchy. Given the history of senators who have previously supported parties associated with the military, there is a likelihood that Pita will not receive sufficient support. Pita is also facing an investigation regarding violations of electoral rules.