Two high-profile resignations have sent Thailand’s ruling coalition under Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha into damage control mode as opposition parties seek a no-confidence vote.
Prayuth aide Seksakol Atthawong became the latest to fall from grace when he stepped down Monday from his post as vice minister of the prime minister’s office.
Seksakol was under fire for a leaked audio recording in which he allegedly discussed a quid pro quo arrangement involving quotas for lottery ticket vendors. Before his resignation, Seksakol had served on a government body tasked with reforming lottery ticket sales.
He once belonged to the pro-military Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), the biggest party in Thailand’s ruling coalition. Seksakol quit the PPRP in January to form his own party.
Seksakol’s party said it would back Prayuth if the PPRP did not name the incumbent as its prime minister candidate for an upcoming general election.
“Seksakol volunteered to resign so that he would not cause trouble for me,” Prayuth said Tuesday.
The departure follows the scandal surrounding Prinn Panitchpakdi, who resigned April 14 as deputy chief of the Democrat Party, part of the ruling coalition.
A sexual harassment complaint from an 18-year-old student led to Prinn’s exit. At least 13 other women have since come forward with their own accusations of sexual misconduct, including rape. Prinn denies the allegations.
Prinn is the son of a former deputy prime minister, Supachai Panitchpakdi, whose resume includes leading the World Trade Organization and the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development.
Opposition lawmakers seek a no-confidence motion against the government as soon as May. The ruling coalition holds an advantage of only a few dozen seats over the opposition in Thailand’s 500-seat lower chamber.
The no-confidence motion could pass with a relatively small number of defections from the coalition, forcing Prayuth from office.
Prayuth also faces a general election expected to take place by March 2023, when the current term for lower house members expire.
Because of the scandals, “the governing parties have lost the trust of supporters,” said Weerasak Krueathep, associate professor at Chulalongkorn University. “The opposition parties will likely ramp up pressure in the run-up to the general election.” – Nikkei Asia
