BANGKOK: Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha thwarted an attempt by the opposition to destabilise his administration on Saturday, surviving a no-confidence vote in Parliament ahead of an 11-month general election.
According to a live webcast of the legislative session, Prayut, the 68-year-old former army chief who has been in power since a coup he spearheaded in 2014, won the vote in the House of Representatives with 256 votes in favour and 206 against, with nine abstentions.
The vote came after four days of censure debate televised live this week, and it was the opposition's latest attempt to unseat Prayut's government, as per media reports.
Ten cabinet ministers, who were targeted by the opposition in the no-confidence motion with the Prime Minister, also survived the vote. This is the fourth time Prayut has survived a no-confidence vote since being elected Prime Minister by the House in 2019.
Thailand PM's Historical Background: Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has served as Minister of Defence since 2019. He served as chief of the Thai army from 2010 to 2014 and led the 2014 Thai coup D'État which installed the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), the military junta which governed Thailand between 22 May 2014 and 10 July 2019.
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