The House voted down the Opposition's censure motion against Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra during its brief session on Wednesday morning.
House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha started the session at 10am when 487 House representatives were present.
The House voted against the no-confidence motion by 319 to 162 with seven abstentions. Mr Wan announced the vote result and closed the session right away.
The 319 votes of support for the prime minister included five from the opposition Thai Sang Thai Party, which has six MPs. Its founder and leader Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan said the five MPs betrayed the people who had voted them into parliament.
The seven abstentions included four MPs of the coalition Democrat Party, incuding former party leaders Chuan Leekpai, Banyat Bantadtan and Jurin Laksanavisit.
Opposition Leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said his People’s Party would ask independent organisations to investigate Prime Minister Paetongtarn on issues related to censure debate content.
“The government should prepare its defence well, because it is unlikely that the prime minister will be able to answer much of the information that we have,” he said.
The censure motion was debated on Monday and Tuesday. The Opposition accused the prime minister of lacking the knowledge, maturity and political will needed for the job.
Opposition MPs said her government had not solved key issues including high electricity charges and low farm prices and proceeded with its handout policy despite warnings it would not effectively stimulate the economy.
The Opposition cited incidents it argued showed the prime minister gave either irrelevant or wrong answers to reporters and interviewers. One example was during the prime minister’s presence at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in Bangkok last November.
The Opposition recalled Ms Paetongtarn’s comment that a strong baht would benefit Thai exports, and said the prime minister seemed to avoid questions on key economic issues.
Opposition MPs also claimed her coalition government was unlawfully influenced by her father and former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.The Opposition even asked if the prime minister had lied about her father's health. He was declared seriously ill and had stayed in a private ward at the Police General Hospital instead of serving his sentence in prison.
The opposition raised suspicions about the ownership of land incorporated in the family's Alpine golf resort and her acceptance of shares worth billions of baht from relatives, purchased with promissory notes and without paying gift tax.
Ms Paetongtarn was also grilled about her policy to develop entertainment complexes with legalised casinos.
The Opposition warned the prime minister that this policy would lead the nation into a crisis and have a serious impact on the people.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, centre, stands in front of Opposition Leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, who went to greet her after Wednesday's vote in the House. (Photo: Nutthawat Wichieanbut)
