Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
National

Censure motion begins

House Speaker Chuan Leekpai, left, receives the censure motion from opposition leader Sompong Amornwiwat at parliament on Aug 16. (Parliament photo)

A four-day no-confidence debate, the third of its kind against the government, kicks off on Tuesday.

Ministers including Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha will face a long list of allegations ranging from flawed management to corruption.

Debate will centre on the government's handling of Covid-19 and related issues such as national vaccine rollout and economic fallout from the crisis.

However, some academics believe the censure debate is unlikely to topple the government.

Yutthaporn Issarachai, a political scientist at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, said Gen Prayut and the five targeted ministers will survive the censure debate no matter how intense the grilling is. He said the coalition parties remain on good terms and the no-confidence debate will not make government MPs cross the floor or prompt coalition parties to withdraw support.

Despite this, the censure debate is deemed necessary in the wake of demonstrations and public questions surrounding the handling of the pandemic, the vaccination programme, and the associated economic fallout, Yutthaporn said.

Stithorn Thananithichote, director of the Office of Innovation for Democracy at King Prajadhipok's Institute, said the debate is unlikely to topple the government because ministers from the three coalition parties are also targeted.

By targeting the coalition parties, government MPs will band together and vote for each other, he said, adding that the opposition would have had a better chance had it singled out Gen Prayut.

Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said Gen Prayut would respond with facts because any decisions involving Covid-19 were based on information available and discussions from all parties concerned. He said the government had no concern about the vote, which will take place Sept 4.

The opposition has been allocated 40 hours for questioning while cabinet ministers and government MPs have been given 18.5 hours to respond.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.