By Thai Newsroom Reporters
IN A RARE REACTION TO recurring lack of a quorum of the House of Representatives, Deputy House Speaker Supachai Bhosu today (Feb.2) bluntly told Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to promptly dissolve it once and for all.
Supachai expressed his frustrations over the repeated lack of a House quorum and dutifully adjourned today’s House meeting until next week.
Only 190 MPs, mostly being in the opposition bloc, were reported to attend today’s House meeting which otherwise needed at least 212 MPs or half the total of the MPs to make a quorum, prompting the grumpy Supachai to adjourn it.
At one instant, the deputy House speaker attached to the Bhumjaithai Party gave his rare advice in the middle of the parliament chamber for Prayut to dissolve the House much sooner than later so all legislators including himself could focus on their electoral campaigning during a current run-up to the next race to parliament.
”Given failures on the part of the MPs to attend House meetings and the cabinet members to be available to respond to floor inquiries, what’s the use of the House anyway?
”Not only the attendee MPs but I myself was so fed up under circumstances like this. Now I am endorsing calls for Prime Minister Prayut to promptly dissolve the House,” Supachai said whilst chairing the last minute of today’s House meeting.
Since last month, all weekly House meetings have been adjourned due to the repeated lack of a quorum as some MPs have been preoccupied with whims of party-hopping whilst others have already done so, thus immediately losing their MP status.
No by-election for MP is legally required during a 180-day period prior to the end of the House’s four-year term, scheduled for March 23.
Nevertheless, Prayut is largely expected to not dissolve the House until March 9 to call the general election in 60 days, thus allowing the lawmakers who may seek re-election to have been attached to a contesting party for a minimum of 30 days ahead of the election date.
Under the Ruam Thai Sang Chart tickets, Prayut is seeking to retain power for two more years after the general election.
CAPTION:
Deputy House Speaker Supachai Bhosu, right, and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, left. Photo: Thai Rath
Deputy House Speaker Supachai Bhosu sends a strong message to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Photo: Matichon
Also read: House dissolution expected no later than March 9
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