Thai PM sails through last no-confidence vote ahead of polls
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Digital Subscription
One year of digital access for only $205*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/07/2022 (1538 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
BANGKOK (AP) — Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha sailed through his fourth and final no-confidence vote in Parliament on Saturday with no surprises, ahead of a general election next year.
The vote came after four days of debate targeting Prayuth and 10 of his Cabinet members for economic mismanagement and their failure to prevent corruption. All 10 ministers also survived the vote, thanks to the ruling coalition government’s majority in Parliament.
Prayuth won 256 confidence votes, with 206 against and nine abstaining.
Cholanan Srikaew, head of the main opposition Pheu Thai Party, said the vote result was disappointing as it didn’t reflect public sentiment. “We know we cannot win in the Parliament but we will not lose in the general election,” he said.
A retired general, Prayuth has weathered three earlier censure motions since 2020. No targeted Cabinet ministers have ever been ousted by no-confidence voting in Thailand’s parliamentary history. Prayuth, 68, came to power during a 2014 coup and was later elected in 2019 general elections.
Over the past four days of censure debate, Prayuth was the key target of the opposition parties. Opposition chief whip Sutin Klungsang said that Prayuth’s key failure was economic management. Prayuth, who is also Defense Minister, was also accused of spying on political dissidents with Pegasus spyware, and of misusing the country’s budget.
The opposition also accused Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul of legalizing cannabis without proper controls.
Prayuth has defended his government’s record, noting that Thailand’s economy is stable despite rising energy prices and high inflation. “For the remaining 250 days of the government, I insist that I will do everything to take the country out of the crisis as soon as possible,” he said.
The government has forecast the economy to expand between 2.5% and 3.5% this year, up from 1.6% last year.
