By Thai Newsroom Reporters
IN WHAT WAS SEEN as a rare phenomenon at parliament, MPs attached to the same parties were practically divided whilst casting their vote on part of the 2025 budget legislation in the House of Representatives today (Sept. 3).
During a second reading of a key section of the 3.75 trillion baht budget bill for the upcoming fiscal year, some of those lawmakers voted differently from others despite the fact that they all currently belong to the same parties.
The mutually contradictory votes cast by those lawmakers apparently resulted from recent phenomena in which the Palang Pracharath as a whole had been dumped out of the Pheu Thai-led government and the Democrats, former archenemies of the largest ruling party, had jumped onto the Pheu Thai bandwagon whilst renegade Palang Pracharath and Thai Sang Thai MPs seemed to vote without regards to their partisan resolutions.
Today’s votes on the significant section of the 3.75 trillion baht budget bill saw a total of 40 Palang Pracharath MPs split into three factions. That referred to one faction of 14 MPs who voted for that part of the budget bill whilst one other faction of 14 MPs voted against it and the 12 others including Palang Pracharath leader Prawit Wongsuwan and secretary-general Thammanat Prompao abstained from voting. The yea voters belong to Thammanat’s clique of renegade MPs whilst the nay voters are attached to Prawit.
In the wake of internal conflict of interest, Thammanat had tacitly sought an ouster en masse of his protege MPs and himself from the Palang Pracharath, now part of the opposition bloc, but Prawit had apparently chosen to ironically keep them as thorns in the side.
Out of a total of 25 Democrat MPs, only 13 cast a yea vote for that part of the budget bill whilst 12 others abstained from voting such as former Democrat leader Chuan Leekpai and Democrat secretary-general Det-it Khaothong who was named deputy public health minister in addition to Democrat leader/non-MP Chalerm Sri-on who was named natural resources & environment minister. Unexpectedly casting a yea vote were former Democrat leaders Jurin Laksanavisit and Banyat Bantattan.
Jurin had earlier aired strong objections to most Democrat MPs’ achieved goal of joining the Pheu Thai-led coalition government.
Three Thai Sang Thai MPs cast a yea vote for that part of the budget bill whilst three others cast a nay vote. All the six Thai Sang Thai MPs had earlier voted in support of Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of de facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra, for prime minister despite the fact that their party headed by Sudarat Keyurapan currently remains on the opposition bloc.
However, 266 MPs whose respective parties may be either practically on the coalition side or opposition bloc voted for the pivotal part of the bill whilst 147 others voted against it.
CAPTION:
Top and Front Page: Palang Pracharath secretary-general Thammanat Prompao and his renegade MPs moved to sit in the Pheu Thai Party’s zone in the Parliament meeting chamber during today’s budget bill deliberation. Photos: Amarin TV
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