BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Thailand's prime minister faced a no-confidence vote Friday in Parliament that he was likely to win despite a week-long grilling by political opponents accusing him of incompetence and yielding national sovereignty.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's six-party coalition commands a healthy majority in the Parliament's lower house, where the vote was to take place later Friday after a week of sometimes-stormy debate.
Critics accuse Samak's government, which took office in February, of mismanaging the ailing Thai economy and of being a proxy for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He has angrily denied all the allegations.
The opposition also have faulted him for acknowledging Cambodia's ownership of a disputed border temple when he endorsed the Cambodian application for UNESCO World Heritage Site status for the temple.
Many Thais still claim the temple for Thailand, although it was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962.
Adding pressure on Samak's government have been several weeks of street protests led by activists from the People's Alliance for Democracy, who have occupied the area around Government House, the seat of Thailand's government, since breaking through a police cordon one week ago.
The protesters allege that Samak's government is interfering with corruption charges against Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.
Still, Samak's coalition showed no signs of cracking during the past week and he seemed poised to win the confidence motion, which targets Samak and seven of his ministers.
«The government will survive the no-confidence debate since the coalition is still intact. His partners do not care much about the content of the debate, but they care about their own survival,» said Sukhum Naunsakul, a political scientist at Bangkok's Ramkhamhaeng University.
Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva accused Samak during debate earlier in the week of mishandling the economy and failing to ease the impact of soaring oil prices, interfering with freedom of the press and violating national interests.
«Even after four months in power, the administration massively mismanaged the country, with no unity, no direction and no efficiency,» Abhisit said.
Samak defended the government's economic policy, saying the whole world faced soaring costs driven by oil price hikes.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's six-party coalition commands a healthy majority in the Parliament's lower house, where the vote was to take place later Friday after a week of sometimes-stormy debate.
Critics accuse Samak's government, which took office in February, of mismanaging the ailing Thai economy and of being a proxy for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He has angrily denied all the allegations.
The opposition also have faulted him for acknowledging Cambodia's ownership of a disputed border temple when he endorsed the Cambodian application for UNESCO World Heritage Site status for the temple.
Many Thais still claim the temple for Thailand, although it was awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in 1962.
Adding pressure on Samak's government have been several weeks of street protests led by activists from the People's Alliance for Democracy, who have occupied the area around Government House, the seat of Thailand's government, since breaking through a police cordon one week ago.
The protesters allege that Samak's government is interfering with corruption charges against Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.
Still, Samak's coalition showed no signs of cracking during the past week and he seemed poised to win the confidence motion, which targets Samak and seven of his ministers.
«The government will survive the no-confidence debate since the coalition is still intact. His partners do not care much about the content of the debate, but they care about their own survival,» said Sukhum Naunsakul, a political scientist at Bangkok's Ramkhamhaeng University.
Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva accused Samak during debate earlier in the week of mishandling the economy and failing to ease the impact of soaring oil prices, interfering with freedom of the press and violating national interests.
«Even after four months in power, the administration massively mismanaged the country, with no unity, no direction and no efficiency,» Abhisit said.
Samak defended the government's economic policy, saying the whole world faced soaring costs driven by oil price hikes.
1 comment:
Go ahead Samak. you are in right direction. I bet after this event, PAD will lost their seats and discredit for future election.
Post a Comment