By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE LATEST BATCH of a dozen coalition MPs has departed from coalition partners to hop over to the Ruam Thai Sang Chart, leaving 405 others attending the last day of the current House of Representatives today (Feb.28).
Deputy House Speaker Supachai Bhosu confirmed 10 Palang Pracharath MPs and two Democrat MPs have resigned less than a week before the House’s final term ended today.
All those lawmakers who have just called it quits were known to be joining the Ruam Thai Sang Chart under whose tickets Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is contesting to prolong his rule in a general election tentatively scheduled for May 7.
Elected lawmakers are legally obliged to have registered themselves for membership of a contesting party for a minimum of 30 days prior to the election date in case that the House may be dissolved by the prime minister on any day ahead of the end of its four-year term scheduled for March 23.
Prayut has remained tightlipped over the exact date on which he may dissolve the House to call the nationwide election.
Meanwhile, the government today preempted the legislative process for an executive decree by filing it with the Constitutional Court to judge whether it may be constitutional or not in the first place.
The executive decree was primarily designed to warrant postponement to the enactment of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Kidnapping Act.
Pheu Thai leader Chonlanan Srikaew took the floor to charge that the government bill was merely designed to deny due protection of people with opposing views from being kidnapped, tormented and killed.
The government had excused that the police have not yet had enough personnel or equipment well-versed for the job.
A number of political activists have gone missing, mostly believed to have been abducted and murdered by unknown men, either inside the country or neighbouring states over the last decades.
CAPTIONS:
Top: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Front Page: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, right, and Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Palang Pracharath leader Prawit Wongsuwan, left. Both photos: Thai Rath
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Prayut urged to leave unpaid-for house in army barracks
