Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday, defeating a challenge from opposition parties who accused her of being under the influence of her father, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
Ms Shinawatra (pictured in a file photo) won the backing of 319 of 488 lawmakers present, with seven abstentions. The vote followed a two-day censure debate in which the opposition attacked her management of the country and what it characterised as her inexperience.
Ms Shinawatra became prime minister last year as the head of a coalition government led by the Pheu Thai party.
She was chosen just two days after Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed the previous premier, Srettha Thavisin, for appointing to his cabinet a former lawyer who had served a prison sentence.
The Pheu Thai Party has been pushing to legalise casino gaming in Thailand.
Earlier this month, Ms Shinawatra said the cabinet would not rush the deliberation of the Entertainment Complex Bill, which would pave the way for legal casino resorts in Thailand. The prime minister said the government would consider opinions and concerns from all stakeholders before moving forward with the process.
It is yet not clear when her cabinet would be ready to deliberate on the legalisation bill. The document is set to be reviewed by the cabinet before being vetted by the National Assembly.
Among 71,291 responses to a government consultation on casino liberalisation in Thailand, 80.75 percent were in favour of the principle of having casino resorts in the country, according to the results of a survey published by the nation’s Ministry of Finance.
