Government faces impeachment over water management project

Backed by at least one fourth of MPs, the impeachment targets all members in Yingluck Shinawatra’s second Cabinet lineup.

“There are grounds to believe that the Cabinet has engaged in corruption and violated five laws as well as the Constitution,” opposition chief whip Jurin Laksanawitsit said.

The Democrat Party submitted the impeachment motion to the Senate president today.. 

The impeachment threat is another blow to the government and its mega modules. Last month, the Central Administrative Court ruled that the modules must be put on hold until their preparations comply fully with applicable laws. The Constitution, for example, requires public participation, environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and health impact assessments (HIAs) for projects with the potential to cause serious impacts on people, their health and their environment. 

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has assigned Deputy Prime Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana to head a panel that is in charge of studying the court’s ruling.