• Burmese
Saturday, July 19, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
27 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

Thai Assembly Votes Itself the Power to Impeach Politicians, Sideline Critics

Amy Sawitta Lefevre by Amy Sawitta Lefevre
September 26, 2014
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
Thai Assembly Votes Itself the Power to Impeach Politicians

Thai junta leader Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha (top R) reads out his government's policy at the Parliament in Bangkok September 12

2.9k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

BANGKOK — Thailand’s military-dominated legislature gave itself the power to impeach political office holders on Thursday, edging a step closer to rooting out the influence of controversial former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The army seized power on May 22 in a bid to restore order and kick-start Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy after months of political infighting that killed nearly 30 people.

The junta, formally known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has reshuffled the civil service and the police force, once seen as an institution loyal to Thaksin, a former police officer, to try and neutralize his allies.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

July 18, 2025
304
Myanmar Crisis Spells Opportunity for U.S.-India Cooperation

Myanmar Crisis Spells Opportunity for U.S.-India Cooperation

July 18, 2025
197
Myanmar Junta Using Conscripts as Cannon Fodder, Defectors Say

Myanmar Junta Using Conscripts as Cannon Fodder, Defectors Say

July 18, 2025
247

Thursday’s move is the latest effort by the military leadership to curb the powers of those loyal to Thaksin and ensure political parties linked to him cannot regain power.

“The meeting unanimously voted in favor of introducing this rule,” Pornpetch Wichitcholachai, leader of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), told reporters.

Thailand has suffered years of political turmoil centered on Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon whose policies helped galvanize support in rural areas but made him unpopular with the Bangkok-based royalist establishment.

Ousted by the army in 2006, he has lived in self-imposed exile since 2008 to avoid a two-year corruption sentence.

Thursday’s vote was a bid by the military leadership to consolidate its grip on power, said Paul Chambers, a Southeast Asian expert affiliated with Chiang Mai University.

“This appears to be an attempt by the arch-royalist military leadership and its allies to completely remove from the political scene those politicians who either supported Thaksin over the years or those who may be viewed as not sufficiently acquiescent to the junta,” Chambers said.

Anti-government demonstrators took to the streets in November to try and overthrow then Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s sister.

Her supporters held counter-protests on the outskirts Bangkok to fight off what they called a bid to hijack democracy and consolidate power in the hands of the conservative elite.

After the 2006 coup, the constitution was re-written under a military-backed government to try and reduce Thaksin’s influence, but it failed to halt his political machine.

Yingluck, whom Thaksin once called a clone of himself, swept to power just a few years later, in 2011, after winning a general election.

Days before the May 22 coup, Yingluck was ordered to step down, after a court found her guilty of abuse of power.

The lawmakers’ new powers could bring more trouble for Yingluck. In a separate case in May, an anti-graft panel indicted her for dereliction of duty over her government’s loss-making rice subsidy program.

The scheme, which paid farmers above-market prices for their rice, distorted the world market and left Thailand with huge stockpiles of rice.

The case was to have been sent to the senate, but the junta dissolved the upper house days after taking power.

Pornpetch said a legal team was studying whether Yingluck’s case could be sent to the National Legislative Assembly. If it does go forward, a guilty verdict could leave her facing a five-year ban from political office.

“The military can use several types of legal strategies to remove Yingluck from the political scene,” said Chambers. “The threat of using these tactics could also be a way to extort co-operation from her and her brother.”

Your Thoughts …
Amy Sawitta Lefevre

Amy Sawitta Lefevre

Reuters

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.5k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
90.4k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87.1k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
47k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.8k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Islamic State ‘Brand’ Gains Ground Among Asian Militants

Islamic State ‘Brand’ Gains Ground Among Asian Militants

Telenor to Launch 3rd Telecoms Service This Week

Telenor to Launch 3rd Telecoms Service This Week

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

1 day ago
1.3k
Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

Chinese Investment Reshapes Myanmar’s N. Shan as MNDAA Consolidates Power

1 week ago
3.4k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    Myanmar Junta’s Power Transfer Looms, but Real Control to Remain With Regime Boss

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Karen Fighters Push for Myanmar Junta Outpost on Thai Border

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Belarus Universities Teach Myanmar Junta How to Kill: JFM

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.