Cabinet rule change empowers Prawit to spend budget, reshuffle
The Cabinet on Tuesday amended regulations to allow acting Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan to approve national budget spending and reshuffles, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said.
Wissanu, the government’s legal expert, said ministers amended the regulations so Prawit could spend budget and approve transfers of senior officials without consulting Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, who has been suspended as PM.
Prayut was suspended from duties by the Constitutional Court last week pending its ruling on whether his eight-year tenure expired on August 24.
Wissanu said the amendments will be effective retroactively but did not empower Prawit as acting prime minister to dissolve the House of Representatives.
Prayut is not suspended from his post as defence minister though he failed to show up for Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, attending via video link instead.
Wissanu said he had no information on why Prayut had opted not to turn up but added that attending via video was not unusual.
He denied there was a vacuum in the country’s leadership, saying Prawit had taken over as acting PM once Prayut was suspended. He said he expected Prayut’s legal team to submit its argument to the Constitution Court soon to counter the opposition’s claim that his tenure ended last week.
He declined to give details of the argument but said the court typically allowed the defence 15 days to submit its case.
