Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has successfully survived a vote of no confidence in the country’s parliament on Wednesday.
319 MPs voted in favour of the minister, 162 against and 7 abstained. The vote, chaired by House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, was the culmination of two days of debate. Of the 490 lawmakers who participated in the vote, four abstained, including former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, a former leader of the Democratic Party. This came as no surprise given his long-standing implacable opposition to Thaksin Shinawatra, the incumbent prime minister’s father, despite the Democratic Party’s participation in the ruling coalition.
Opposition leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut accused Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s government of lobbying for the interests of her family, particularly her father Thaksin Chinawatra. He said the coalition between the Pheu Thai party and her former conservative opponents was formed as part of a political agreement to facilitate Thaksin Shinawatra’s return to Thailand.
The central theme of the debate was criticism of the prime minister’s performance. The opposition claimed that Paetongtarn Shinawatra was under the undue influence of his father. The issue of Thaksin Shinawatra’s detention in a 14th-floor ward at a police hospital instead of imprisonment was raised.
Criticism also touched on Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s performance in the first six months of her premiership: falling agricultural prices, failure to tackle air pollution, deportation of 40 Uighur prisoners to China, delays in cracking down on fraud, difficulties in economic recovery and lack of progress on constitutional amendments. There have also been personal accusations of tax evasion and dodgy land transactions.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she had given full explanations on all points and all her actions were in accordance with the law. She emphasised the possibility of her activities being audited by relevant authorities, including the Tax and Land Offices.
The vote of no confidence, intended to weaken the prime minister’s position, turned out to be a convincing victory, demonstrating her political stability and the support of the parliamentary majority.
