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Thai parliament advised to impeach 250 former MPs

Thursday, 12 March 2015 2:29 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 12 March 2015 2:29 PM ]

A file photo of Thailand’s Senate floor

Thailand’s anti-corruption body has recommended impeaching 250 former lawmakers in its latest crackdown on supporters of a former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Vicha Mahakun, the spokesman for Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), said Thursday that the agency has accused the former parliament members of having misused their authority in violation of the constitution, which has since been defunct.

The former lawmakers had sought an amendment to the composition of the 150-member Senate, making it fully rather than partly elected, Vicha added.

However, the Constitutional Court ruled in 2013 that the attempt was unlawful.

The anti-corruption agency is set to submit its evidence to members of the interim National Legislative Assembly (NLA). A vote for impeachment could see the ex-lawmakers banned from political office for five years.

The NACC move is viewed as an attempt to prevent Thaksin’s allies from returning to power.

In May last year, the Thai army seized power and ousted former prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra (pictured above), following months of anti-government protests and a disputed election in the country.

The kingdom’s first female premier was removed from office on May 7 for assigning a family member to a senior government post. She has been also indicted for her involvement in a controversial rice subsidy scheme.

Demonstrations initially erupted in Thailand after the government proposed an amnesty bill in October 2013 that could have pardoned Thaksin Shinawatra, setting the scene for his return to the country.

Opponents viewed Yingluck to be a proxy for her elder brother, Thaksin, who himself had been toppled in a coup in 2006. Thaksin has been living in self-exile since 2008 to avoid a two-year prison sentence.

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