Thailand’s Prime Minister (PM), Prayuth Chan-O-Cha, and five of his cabinet members, including Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, comfortably survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament on Saturday amid growing public outrage over the government’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The no-confidence motion failed after 264 lawmakers voted against it, 208 voted in favour, and three abstained. The opposition needed 242 of the 482 parliamentary votes to remove the PM. While Prayuth said he remained confident following the vote, this is the second such vote against him this year and the third one since his election in 2019.
Apart from the Health Minister, those who survived the test included Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sri-on, Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin and Digital Economy, and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn. The ministers were accused of corruption, economic mismanagement, and an inadequate response to COVID-19.
In the four days leading up to the vote, lawmakers accused Prayuth’s government of mishandling the pandemic and the severe impact on the country’s economy and the healthcare system. They also criticised the government’s slow vaccine rollout because it did not make advance orders of vaccines and testing kits and decided not to join the international COVAX vaccine supply initiative.
Prayuth also faced accusations of paying five million baht ($154,000) to some members of Parliament in exchange for votes of support. Although the PM denied these allegations and stood by his decisions during the pandemic, House Speaker Chuan Leekpai ordered a formal investigation into the claim.
In recent weeks, public discontent against PM Prayuth’s administration’s handling of the pandemic has also increased, with protests turning violent on some occasions. Security forces have responded using tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets against protesters who hurled stones and firecrackers. On Friday, anti-government groups held another campaign demanding the PM’s resignation.
The protests are expected to intensify as anger mounts over continued lockdowns and a surge in virus infections fuelled by the Delta variant. Since the spread of the variant in April, Thailand has reported more than 1.2 million infections and nearly 12,000 deaths. The largest single-day increase in cases was reported in mid-August, with more than 23,000 infections. About 13% of Thailand’s more than 66 million population has been fully vaccinated during mass vaccination drives that began in June.