11 ministers beat no-confidence vote, including PM Prayut

After intense censure debate over the past three days, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and 10 other cabinet ministers have scraped by and survived a vote of no-confidence, maintaining their positions and avoiding censure again. The opposition had mounted a fierce three-day debate that The Thaiger has been covering each day, but the government leaders have come out unscathed.

Minister of Commerce Jurin Laksanawisit had the least favourable votes, with only 241 votes in his favour and 207 against, with 23 people abstaining from the vote. Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon received the most supportive votes of confidence, with 268 in his favour and only 193 voting no-confidence.

Often-maligned Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul had a rousing amount of support with 264 votes in his confidence, the second-most of any minister. Meanwhile, the prime minister fell in the middle, receiving 206 votes of no-confidence against 256 votes in his favour, with nine abstentions from voting.

To officially receive a vote of no-confidence, a minister would have needed to receive a total of 239 votes against them, amounting to half the total number of members of parliament. Minister of Interior Anupong Paochinda received the highest number of negative votes, but with 212, comfortably avoided the no-confidence label by a margin of 27 votes.

PM Prayut declared after the vote that he had no intentions of shaking up the cabinet as a result of the vote. This censure debate was likely to be the last one of Prayut’s tenure, as a general election is expected next year, though the PM could call for a by-election before then by dissolving the Parliament.

The full results of the no-confidence vote:

SOURCE: Bangkok Post