Thai PM survives 4th no-confidence vote, last big test before polls

BANGKOK, July 23 (Reuters) – Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and 10 cupboard ministers survived no-confidence votes in parliament on Saturday, with the federal government rising on prime in Prayuth’s final main check forward of a basic election due inside 11 months.

The 68-year-old former military chief, in energy since a coup he led in 2014, obtained 256 votes in favour and 206 in opposition to with 9 abstentions, securing his place as premier till his time period ends in March. Three deputy prime ministers and 7 different cupboard members additionally survived the censure movement.

The opposition had wanted greater than 239 of the 477 parliamentary votes to oust the prime minister.

“In the course of the censure debate up to now few days, the problems raised by the opposition include some incorrect info and the federal government has used this chance to make clear issues,” stated authorities spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana.

“Now that the censure debate is accomplished we urged the opposition to work with us for the folks and the nation.”

The prime minister and 10 cupboard members underwent 4 days of grilling stay on tv from an opposition that accused them of corruption and financial mismanagement, in an effort to discredit the ruling 17-party coalition earlier than the subsequent polls. learn extra

It was the fourth time Prayuth’s efficiency had been put to a vote since he was chosen by the home to stay prime minister in 2019, following an election the opposition stated was held beneath guidelines designed to maintain him in energy. Prayuth has rejected that assertion.

Regardless of current opinion polls exhibiting his reputation declining, Prayuth had been anticipated to prevail, in response to political analysts, a few of whom noticed the censure movement as a transfer by the opposition to court docket public assist forward of the subsequent election.

“We all know that in parliament we can’t compete however we place confidence in the folks as a result of we didn’t lose and the deciding issue would be the election,” the chief of the opposition bloc, Chonlanan Srikaew, advised reporters.

Youth-led protest teams that emerged in July 2020 to problem the federal government gathered in entrance of parliament via the censure debate and held a parallel vote of no-confidence leading to 16,690 votes in opposition to the federal government and solely 251 in favour.

Prayuth has given no indication of when an election will probably be known as.

Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Martin Petty; Enhancing by Kanupriya Kapoor and William Mallard

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