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BANGKOK: Hundreds of protesters rallied in front of Thailand’s parliament after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and nine ministers survived a parliamentary no-confidence motion on Saturday (February 20) after a four-day no-confidence debate .
“It was a disappointment, but expected,” said protest leader Attapon Buapat.
More than 1,000 protesters demonstrated outside the gates of Parliament. The organizers assured that the protest would not turn violent.
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“We want a peaceful protest,” protest leader Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul told reporters after speaking to police. “There is no reason for the police to break up this demonstration.”
Previously, lawmakers voted in favor of Prayut and other ministers, which was widely expected.
Opposition lawmakers have targeted what they say is a slow government rollout of the coronavirus vaccine and its economic policies, promising to continue investigating.
“We have opened a wound and now we will add salt to it,” Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the Move Forward Party, told reporters after the vote.
Prayut, a former head of the military, toppled an elected prime minister in 2014 and remained in office after a 2019 election that his rivals said were seriously flawed.
The government has said that the elections were free and fair.
Prayut was expected to survive Saturday’s vote due to the majority of his coalition government in the lower house.
“The debate went well, but the government must continue its work,” Prayut said in a podcast after the vote. “I would like to ask all Thais to work together to move the country forward.”
The motion of no confidence came as pro-democracy protests returned after a hiatus caused by a second COVID-19 outbreak.
“About 4,000 officers have been prepared,” said deputy police spokesman Kissana Pattanacharoen, adding that the rallies violated an emergency decree to control the coronavirus outbreak.
“The duty of the police is to maintain order,” he said when asked whether there would be the use of force.
Earlier this month, protesters demanding the activists’ release clashed with the police.
Youth-led protests last year reached hundreds of thousands, occupied major commercial intersections in Bangkok and spread to university campuses across the country.
“This is a critical moment in Thailand. We can’t wait, we don’t want people to think this is just Twitter or Facebook,” 20-year-old student Ngamluk Montim told Reuters.
“We went out to raise our voices. This is just the beginning.”
