Thai parliament to elect new PM

Abhisit Vejjajiva says he is confident of forming the next government

Parliament in Thailand will vote next Monday to choose a new prime minister, says the speaker of parliament.

The leader of the opposition Democrats, Abhisit Vejjajiva, says he has enough support to head a new government.

But the banned governing party, now reformed under the name Puea Thai, says it has backing to seize power again.

Last week, the Thai courts forced PM Somchai Wongsawat from office and disbanded the governing party over electoral fraud.

Parliamentary speaker Chai Chidchob said that King Bhumibol Adulyadej had endorsed a request from the Democrat Party to hold Monday's extraordinary session of parliament.

The Democrats, who were defeated in the last general elections in December, will propose to parliament that Abhisit Vejjajiva becomes the next prime minister.

They say that as many as 40 MPs from the former governing People Power Party (PPP) loyal to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, have defected to them, as have several smaller parties.

The new PM will be the country's fifth leader in a little over two years.

Thailand has been in political deadlock for months as anti-government protesters have mounted a campaign to remove the governing party.

They accused the PPP of being a proxy for Mr Thaksin, who was ousted in a military coup in 2006.

The protest culminated in a week-long occupation of Bangkok's main international airport that left 300,000 foreign tourists stranded.

The opposition called off its action after last week's decision by the constitutional court to disband the PPP.