Royal ceremony to open Thai Parliament set May 24

BANGKOK, May 23 (TNA) - His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Her Majesty Queen Suthida will preside over a royal ceremony to open the Thai Parliament on May 24, 2019, two months after the country's new general election was held. The Secretariat of the House of Representatives, the Secretariat of the Senate and other relevant agencies have organized a rehearsal for the royal ceremony at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok. Their Majesties the King and Queen are scheduled to preside over the opening of the Thai Parliament in the wake of the new general election at the Vithes Samosorn Hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this coming Friday. Later in the day, there will be the first convention of the Thai Senate at the main conference hall of state-run TOT Public Company Limited (TOT) on the outskirts of the capital to vote for the President and the Two Vice Presidents of the Senate. On May 25, the first convention of the Thai House of Representatives will be held at the same TOT head office venue to vote for the President and the Two Vice Presidents of the House of Representatives, during which a secret voting system may be used if there are more than one candidate contesting the position of the Lower House's President, or the House Speaker. The date for the convention of the Thai Parliament to vote for the country's new prime minister will be officially announced later. The construction and the decoration of Thailand's riverside new Parliament building in Kiak Kai area in the capital is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. (TNA)