BANGKOK (AP) – Thailand’s prime minister survived a vote of no confidence in parliament on Saturday amid allegations that his government mismanaged the economy, hampered the supply of COVID-19 vaccines, violated human rights and fostered corruption. Nine other ministers also survived the vote.
It was the second test of lack of confidence that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s government has faced since taking office in July 2019, after a contested election after Prayuth took power in a 2014 coup as head of the army. In February last year, he and five cabinet ministers easily defeated a vote of no confidence in the Chamber of Deputies.
In the last motion, the Prayuth government was also criticized for misusing its power to promote policemen and for establishing a cyber unit to attack government critics on social media, among other complaints.
But a more serious claim was that Prayuth deepened divisions in society by using the monarchy as a shield against criticism of his government.
A student-led protest movement has campaigned since last year for Prayuth and his government to step down. They want the constitution to be amended to make it more democratic and the monarchy to be reformed to make it more accountable.
“Prayuth’s biggest flaw is that he doesn’t understand the principles of constitutional monarchy,” said Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the opposition party Move Forward.
“He used the monarchy to protect himself whenever he was criticized or against. This is an evil action, which makes him no longer qualified to be prime minister, ”he said.
His accusation refers to the application of article 112 of the penal code, also known as lei de lese majeste. Prayuth said in June last year that King Maha Vajiralongkorn expressed his wish that the government would not use the law against defaming the monarchy to prosecute pro-democracy protesters.
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, a popular politician who was expelled from parliament last year, was accused last month of lese majeste for alleging that the government’s acquisition of COVID-19 vaccines was late and inadequate, and that there was possible favoritism in granting major contracts .
The criticism concerns the monarchy because most of the vaccines ordered by Thailand will be produced by Siam Bioscience, a private Thai company owned by the king.
The monarchy is widely considered to be an untouchable foundation of Thai nationalism.
The lese majeste law allows anyone to complain to the police, with convictions that carry prison sentences of up to 15 years for a crime. According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, at least 59 people, including several minors, were summoned by law between November and February.
Four well-known protesters – including human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, student leader Parit Chiwarak and political activists Somyos Prueksakasemsuk and Patiwat Saraiyaem – were prosecuted under the law and on charges of sedition earlier this month. Their lawyer asked for bail, but the court denied it.
Prayuth said the debate in parliament was “a good opportunity for both sides to do something together for our country and people. And I am ready to clarify all the allegations. ”
Of the 487 parliamentarians, 277 are part of the governing coalition and 210 of the opposition. The motion of censure would require a simple majority, or 244 votes, to pass. Prayuth received 272 votes, with 206 voting for non-trust and three remaining silent.
On Saturday night, about 1,000 protesters held a rally outside the parliament building’s gate, where speakers took turns denouncing the voting results, saying they were hosting their own version of the censorship debate. Some participants held up posters criticizing the government and the monarchy.
“We knew what the outcome of the vote would be, but we are not upset because at least the opposition parties had a chance to expose the government’s mistakes so that the whole country would know the truth,” said Jaruwan Bungasaree, 68 – an old protester.
“They spoke out against corruption and did a good job,” she added.
The police said earlier that they would send more than 10,000 police officers to Bangkok over the weekend to control the crowd and maintain law and order. Police vehicles, including trucks with water cannons, were dispatched near the parliament building.
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The Associated Press writer Bill Bredesen contributed to this report.