Thai Foreign Minister faces pressure to resign

Bangkok (VNA) - The Thai Constitution Protection Association on June 3 issued a statement calling on Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai to step down before the Constitutional Court makes a verdict on the scandal related to his wife’s failure to declare her stockholdings.

Pressure is increasing on Don after the Election Commission (EC) of Thailand reportedly found he did not meet the ministerial qualifications required by the Constitution.

The EC report, which said that Don breached the law due to his wife Narirat’s failure to declare her stockholdings, came out on May 31. 

In the statement, Srisuwan Janya, Secretary-General of the Thai Constitution Protection Association, said: “It has happened to many ministers and politicians in the past and the public demanded that they resign to prevent a conflict of interest as well as to protect the image of Thai politics.”  

Somsak Prisananantakul, a senior politician in the Chart Thai Pattana Party, said Don should suspend himself from office to pave the way for the government leader, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, to be able to press on with national reforms.

Earlier, the EC reportedly voted 3-2 to disqualify Don from holding his position based on the undeclared assets. The EC will next petition the Constitutional Court for a final verdict on whether Don should be dismissed from his present job. 

The EC made the decision after finding that Don’s wife had failed to declare holdings of more than a 5-per-cent stake in a company within 30 days of Don joining the Cabinet. 

Article 187 of the current Constitution prohibits ministers, their spouses and children under the legal age of 20 years old from benefiting from stock holdings beyond legal limits. 

They must declare their stock holdings to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and transfer them to legally authorised people to manage them without their involvement.-VNA