By Thai Newsroom Reporters
ACTING PRIME MINISTER Phumtham Wechayachai is by no means legally empowered to dissolve the House of Representatives to call a general election at any given time, according to a senior government official.
Council of State Secretary-General Pakorn Nilprapan posted on his Facebook page today (July 7) to conclude that the Pheu Thai-attached deputy prime minister-cum-interior minister who is currently performing as acting prime minister cannot legitimately dissolve the House to return power to the people by way of a nationwide election for MPs.
Pakorn noted that only legislators eventually named and endorsed with a House majority vote as head of government may legally opt for the dissolution of the House as an alternative to their decision to step down for any conceivable reasons.
The Council of State secretary-general confirmed that the House dissolution is one of the constitutionally and royally-endowed powers of the prime minister as an individual who, he noted, cannot be legally substituted by others.
Phumtham, known as a right-hand man for Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s father/de facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra, has earlier contended that he could possibly do so in the wake of criticisms and pressure from those in the political arena and the public following the woman prime minister’s brazen fiasco over last month’s handling of Thai-Cambodian border conflict.
Paetongtarn who is currently performing as culture minister has been suspended at an order of the Constitutional Court from doing her executive duties as head of government pending a court ruling anticipated in a couple of months on an impeachment lawsuit filed by senators against Thaksin’s daughter-turned-prime minister after she had allegedly perpetrated a breach of the ethical code, manifested lack of evident honesty, damaged Thailand’s territorial integrity and national prestige and betrayed trust of the Thai people by offering an overly submissive compromise, either purposely or inadvertently, during a leaked telephone talk with Cambodian leader Hun Sen pertaining to sustained border tensions.
Nevertheless, the embattled prime minister has not opted out by either resigning or dissolving the House under pressure from inside and outside of parliament whilst her mega-billionaire, power-playing father who has apparently kept himself unusually tight-lipped over his daughter’s disreputable, erroneous dealing with such a significant national security issue is more or less anticipated to return to “lobbyism” with unnamed members of the superelite, powers-that-be in a surreptitious, last-ditch effort to rescue his daughter and himself out of hot water whilst he himself is also waging legal battles in court.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. Photos: Thai Rath
Insert: Council of State Secretary-General Pakorn Nilprapan. Photo Thai Rath
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