The National Election Commission is expected to make an official announcement of the election outcome within 30 days after the polling day. After the official outcome is announced, the House of Representatives will meet to elect the new Prime Minister, which can be expected to take place in early May. The new Prime Minister will then form the new cabinet and have his new cabinet sworn in before His Majesty the King.

According to the Thai Constitution, the present cabinet shall remain in office until the new cabinet is sworn in.

Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai remains Deputy Prime Minister until the new cabinet is formed and sworn in.

Dr. Surakiart has been entrusted by the Royal Thai Government to chair the committee overseeing the renovation of over 150 sacred sites which have histories related to the Chakri Royal Dynasty in honour of the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty the King of Thailand’s Accession to the Throne. Dr. Surakiart has been overseeing the restoration sites which are sacred to the five faiths practiced in Thailand, namely Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Brahman-Hinduism, and Sikhism. The restoration and preservation of religious sites include Buddhist Temples, Christian Churches, Islamic Mosques, and many sacred shrines. In so doing, he has been holding dialogues with the leaders of the various faiths to uphold respect for the common heritage.

On 24 April, Dr. Surakiart hosted an informal meeting over luncheon for the Representatives of the Leaders’ Network in Support of UN Reform in Bangkok. Attending this second meeting were 14 Special Envoys entrusted by their respective leaders as well as the representatives of the UN Secretary-General and the President of the UN General Assembly.

Dr. Surakiart and the Leaders’ Representatives exchanged views on the core issues of the Network’s concern pertaining to the reform process, particularly on development and ECOSOC reform, management reform, UNSC reform, terrorism, UNGA revitalization and system-wide coherence. Dr. Surakiart stressed the ever increasing importance of the Network’s role in facilitating the UN reform process. They discussed Dr. Surakiart’s proposals on practical ways and means of addressing contentious issues to maintain the momentum of the UN reform process. The proposals include:

First, the role of the Network should be further strengthened to exercise political leadership in view of the current polarized situation in the negotiations on UN reform.

Second, to establish Friends of Leaders’ Network. Each member of the Network could encourage its friends in the respective regions and groupings to identify important issues on UN reform that need to be pushed forward.

Third, to present the outcome of the Network’s meeting to the President of the UN General Assembly.

The Leaders’ Network was initiated by Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson at the 2005 World Summit (High-Level Plenary Meeting-HLPM) which was strongly supported by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The Network comprises 14 Leaders from various regions, namely Argentina, Canada, Egypt, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. Its first meeting was held in Stockholm in November 2005.

Visit to Bahrain, 24-26 April 2006

Dr. Surakiart paid an official visit to Bahrain as guest of His Highness Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa. Dr. Surakiart presided over the inauguration of the Thai Business Center and signed the Air Services Agreement with the Bahraini Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transportation.

He had a productive exchange of views with His Highness the Prime Minister as well as with Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid. They discussed bilateral and regional issues as well as international developments. They assessed the UN reform process and the selection process of the next UN Secretary-General. They discussed the ASEAN strategy for Dr. Surakiart’s candidature and the positive developments of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) towards his candidature. The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates.

He also had an audience of His Highness Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and the Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force. They exchanged views on bilateral cooperation and global trends in security, terrorism, and economic development.

Visit of President of Gabon to Thailand, 28-30 April.

On 30 April, Dr. Surakiart and Thanpuying Suthawan called on the President of Gabon and Madame Bongo Ondimba upon their visit to Thailand. The President and Dr. Surakiart exchanged views on global and regional developments. Dr. Surakiart praised the President for his leadership role in the African region and expressed appreciation for Africa’s support for the turn of Asia for the position of United Nations Secretary-General. They also discussed avenues of strengthening bilateral relations, particularly in the fields of trade, investment, agriculture, and technical cooperation.

Dr. Surakiart and Thanpuying Suthawan also received Gabonese Foreign Minister Ping and his wife. Dr. Surakiart and Foreign Minister Ping had a productive discussion on international developments, including the UN reform process and the UNSG selection process.