Lodging A No Confidence Motion Surprises the Parliament

Surprisingly, a group of opposition parties lodged a no confidence motion with House Speaker Chuan Leekpai targeting 10 cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

208 MPs backed the resolution calling for a vote on censure. Driven by Pheu Thai, Step Ahead, Prachachart, Seri Ruam Thai, Pheu Map, Palang Puang Chon Thai, Modern Economics, and Thai Civilized are the other parties that co-signed the motion.

In view of this, the Pheu Thai leader Sompong Amornvivat, the minority leader in the House of Representatives, led other party figures to present Mr. Chuan with the no-confidence motion. The leaders involved where the Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Prayut Chan-o-cha, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health Anutin Chanvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade Jurin Laksanawisit, Minister of Labour Suchart Chomklin, Minister of the Interior Anupong Paojinda, Minister of Education Nathapol Teepsuwan are the 10 ministers listed in the censure motion.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Prayut Chan-o-cha, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health Anutin Chanvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade Jurin Laksanawisit, Minister of Labour Suchart Chomklin, Minister of the Interior Anupong Paojinda, Minister of Education Nathapol Teepsuwan are the 10 ministers included in the list of censors.

Mr. Chuan claimed that legislative officials must first validate the resolution and the accompanying signatures. It was going to take seven days. If there were no complications, the resolution would be introduced as an urgent issue on the House agenda.

Mr. Chuan shared that legislative officials must first validate the resolution and the accompanying signatures. Seven days will be sufficient for this. The motion would be put on the House’s agenda as an urgent matter if there were no issues.

The discussion on censure was tentatively scheduled for Feb 16-19. After the resolution was on the agenda, the precise dates will be determined, Mr Chuan said.

The Nakhon Ratchasima MP, Pheu Thai Secretary-General Prasert Chantaruangthong, said the opposition parties would meet to negotiate time frames for discussion.

Mr. Prasert said the opposition would set up a war debate room to set up and supervise time slots and debaters of delegates from each side. The leader of the Move Forward Faction, Pita Limjaroenrat, said debaters from both opposition parties must cooperate together to avoid the mistakes made during the last censorship debate in time management, where some of the MPs from the then Future Forward party were left out.

As a consequence, outside parliament, the party resorted to conducting its own no-confidence vote. The Seri Ruam Thai Party chairman, Pol Gen Sereepisuth Temiyaves, called on the House speaker not to side with the army. He remembered being told to leave the room, the intention being to deter him from discussing the inability of Gen Prayut to deliver the full oath during the swearing-in ceremony of the cabinet before HM the King. He shared that he wouldn’t let this happen again to him.