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| Southeast Asia |
| Thai PM survives vote |
| 2010-06-03 |
| [Straits Times] THAILAND'S prime minister won on Wednesday more than half the votes in parliament after a two-day debate of an opposition no-confidence motion aimed at blaming him for recent political violence, according to an official tally. Thanks to his ruling coalition's majority in the lower house, the censure motion submitted by the opposition was rejected by 246 votes to 186, said House Speaker Chai Chidchob. But his deputy prime minister and four other cabinet members won by narrower margins, in some cases winning barely half the 475 parliamentary votes, the result of a rift between two small parties in the coalition who withheld support from some of the ministers. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said the result 'may be problematic' but insisted it had not affect government stability. 'Mr Abhisit has emerged reasonably strong from the debate, at least among the powerful middle classes,' said Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, head of the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), a graduate institution. 'Since he is the incumbent who has the support of the coalition, he won't feel the need to go to the polls soon,' he added. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has the support of a six-party coalition and had been expected to survive the no-confidence vote, as indicated by the parliament's official tally. |
| Posted by:Fred |