Five-month old Thai government faces censure debate

Jun 16, 2008, 6:08 GMT

Bangkok - Thailand's main opposition party on Monday announced plans to submit a no-confidence motion against the five-month old cabinet of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

Democrat party secretary-general Suthep Tueksuban said they would submit the censure motion against Samak and six other ministers to Lower House speaker Chai Chitchop on Tuesday.

'They have damaged the economy and Thai society,' said Suthep. 'We need to stop the damage before the corruption starts.'

Under the Thai constitution's rules the no-confidence motion needs to reach the floor at least seven days before the house session closes, which is scheduled for June 27.

It is possible that the house speaker will find ways to delay the motion and thereby scuttle the debate, which stands no chance of victory anyway since the coalition holds 315 seats in parliament compared with the opposition parties' 185 seats.

Thailand's current coalition government named its cabinet lineup on February 6, following the December 23 polls won by the People Power Party (PPP), deemed a nominee party for coup-ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his disbanded Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party.

Thaksin, a billionaire businessman who was prime minister between 2001 to 2006, was toppled by a military coup in September 2006 on charges of corruption and dividing the nation.

Thailand's PPP-led government has spent much of the past five months trying to amend the 2007 constitution to pave the way for a political return for Thaksin and his supporters.

The constitutional maneuvering has brought back anti-Thaksin demonstrators to the streets of Bangkok, further undermining foreign investors' confidence in Thailand's already battered economy.

Critics of the Samak government contend that the cabinet has spent too much time on politics and not enough on tackling the country's mounting economic woes, that include high oil and food prices, falling stocks and slowing economic growth.

The government is also working on several transport-related projects, such as the proposed purchase of a new fleet of 6,000 public buses and extensions to the mass transit system in Bangkok, that are likely to offer ample opportunities for corruption, according to the Democrats.