Opposition to take legal action against Thai PM, ministers, following no-confidence vote
Thailand’s opposition parties plan to take legal action against the PM and several of his ministers, following a no-confidence vote that went in the government’s favour. Chief opposition whip, Sutin Klungsang, says 6 parties will pursue legal action, according to a Bangkok Post report.
Last week’s no-confidence debate targeted PM Prayut Chan-o-cha and 5 of his ministers: Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, who also serves as deputy prime minister, Transport Minister, Saksayam Chidchob, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister, Chalermchai Sri-on, Labour Minister, Suchart Chomklin, and Digital Economy and Society Minister, Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn.
The Bangkok Post reports Sutin as saying opposition parties are satisfied with how their MPs performed during the debate, adding that the PM and his ministers were expected to survive the vote, given that no sitting government has ever lost a no-confidence vote. The opposition insists however, that there are still a number of irregularities that arose in the debate and that have not been addressed.
Chief among those is how the government managed to get enough votes from MPs. Wisarn Techathirawat from the Pheu Thai Party has accused the PM of paying some MPs 5 million baht each in order to get them to vote for him. The government has denied the accusation and responded by threatening Wisarn with legal action. However, Sutin says the opposition has strong evidence in relation to the accusation and will file a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Constitutional Court.
He adds that the PM and his administration failed to give clear answers to many of the issues raised during the no-confidence debate, including how much was paid for China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine and what the procurement details were. Opposition MPs also had questions in relation to the procurement of antigen test kits and Sutin says no satisfactory responses were forthcoming there either.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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