Country awaits vote with bated breath

The country is holding its breath for the vote tomorrow in the impeachment cases against former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and former Parliament president Somsak Kiatsuranont and his deputy Nikom Wairatpanij, as the National Legislative Assembly concludes the debate on the cases today.
The legislative body needs 132 out of 220 votes to oust Yingluck and the two politicians from positions they no longer hold. But members of the junta-installed assembly want them to be banned from politics if the government calls an election later.
Many are worried about the deepening of national divisions and jeopardising the ongoing reform process.
The Federation of Thai Industries’ chairman, Supant Mongkholsuthree, said the business sector was worried about the impeachment vote, fearing that resistance from Yingluck’s supporters might deepen the political conflict in the country and even trigger violence that could damage the economy.
“There could be repercussions for the sluggish economy,” he said, and added that the tourism sector, which is very vulnerable to the political situation, is the only remaining engine for economic growth.
Political analysts believe that Yingluck has a very slim chance of escaping impeachment, as the anti-graft body is determined to indict ministers in her Cabinet to prove huge corruption occurred under her watch.
The decisive factor in the voting would be the role of security officers who comprise more than half the seats in the NLA. It is said that they take their instructions only from the junta and the government.
 The anti-graft body likely drove the last nail into the coffin when it said on Tuesday that a joint working group of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and the Office of the Attorney-General had agreed to file a criminal case against Yingluck.
However, Deputy Attorney-General Vudhibhongse Vibulyawongse, who headed the state prosecutors in the working group, said yesterday that he was not aware of such a decision.
The NACC secretary-general, Sansern Poljieak, reiterated that the working group meeting on Tuesday, attended by three officials from the Office, had made the decision. “I don’t know why the attorney-general’s representatives didn’t coordinate with their head, Vudhibhongse, about the decision,” he said.
Members of Pheu Thai Party said an invisible hand was pulling the strings from behind to lobby some moderate members of NLA to impeach former premier Yingluck.
“The accusations by the National Anti-Corruption Committee (NACC) against former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and former deputy commerce minister Poom Sarapol were for political purposes in order to link Yingluck to the corruption,” former Pheu Thai MP Somkid Chuakong said.
The fact that the NACC proceeded with these two cases before Yingluck’s, as well as the use of the media to pressure the NLA could, somehow, be regarded as an attempt to discredit former Pheu Thai ministers, he said.
He said this kind of prejudice in some NLA members created negative political norms, ignoring rules and laws. “The only thing that interests them is the Shinawatra clan should leave politics,” Somkid said.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said it was true that the NLA was created by the junta but the government cannot dictate the NLA decision.
Asked if an impeachment would affect reconciliation, Wissanu said, “We are jumping from the frying pan into the fire. We are inflicted with criticism from both sides; it’s a case of damned if we do, damned if we don’t,” he said.
“But it does not mean we can sit still to have reconciliation,” he said. “What we are doing is building the process and bringing the things through.”
Yingluck was accused of negligence for allowing corruption in the rice pledging scheme while Somsak and Nikom were alleged of misconduct by proceeding with the amendment of the 2007 Constitution.
Norawich Lalang, Yingluck’s lawyer, said the charges against ministers of false government-to-government rich purchases should not be mixed up with Yingluck’s impeachment.
If the NLA members remain firm in their principles, they would see that the two cases are distinct, he said.
Yingluck will deliver her closing statement to the NLA today to convince the members of her innocence, Norawich added.