A week-long debate ended Friday morning as expected, with all six cabinet members under censure surviving no-confidence votes in the parliament.
After four days of debate, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha’s government emerged intact following votes made more lopsided after dozens of opposition lawmakers walked out on the vote over complaints of procedure and allegations of monkey-wrenching.
The opposition targeted Prayuth and five of his closest allies serving in his cabinet: Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krau-ngam, Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda, Foreign Affairs Minister Don Pramudwinai and Deputy Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao.
The motion to remove Prayuth went down a 272-49 with two abstentions.
Thammanat, a convicted heroin smuggler who spent four years in Australian prison, took the most heat. During Wednesday’s debate, he was forced to openly acknowledge the conviction, but then said a law banning drug convicts from serving as ministers didn’t apply to him because he violated Australian not Thai law.
The no-confidence motion was filed late last month by Sompong Amornwiwat of the opposition Pheu Thai Party.
Among breakout moments was Future Forward Party’s MP Wiroj Lakkana-adisorn’s accusation that the military of had constructed a cyber disinformation and propaganda network to attack pro-democracy critics and activists, and sow divisions among the public.
Dozens of opposition members unhappy that the schedule had been rejiggered to move debate over Gen. Prawit, one of their most reviled figures of the military establishment, to the end, effectively shielding him from debate.
The debate began three days after a court disbanded Future Forward, the third largest party, provoking outrage and a series of nationwide campus protests against the government.
Here are the full results of the confidence votes:
Prayuth Chan-o-cha (272-49), Prawit Wongsuwan (277-50), Wissanu Krea-ngam (272-54), Anupong Paojinda (272-54), Don Pramudwinai (272-55) and Thammanat Prompao (269-55).
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