The 3.2-trillion-baht budget bill for the 2020 fiscal year was back in the House of Representatives on Thursday for a re-vote and the document looks to be on track for enactment.
The process was completed without any hiccups or concern over a quorum, after government MPs turned out in force in the face of an opposition boycott.
The bill's second reading and section-by-section vote was repeated after concerns were raised about the possible lack of a quorum.
Following the debate, House Speaker Chuan Leekpai called a re-vote from Section 1 onwards at 4.30pm. The third reading then saw the budget bill passed by a vote of 257 to 1 with three abstentions in a record time of under two hours.
Ahead of the re-vote on Thursday, MPs were urged not to debate the document since the Jan 10-11 debate had covered all the necessary details and MPs had already taken longer than usual deliberating.
Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a Pheu Thai Party member of the House committee vetting the budget bill, sought a debate on almost all sections, but agreed to drop his request amid applause from the chamber.
The re-vote was ordered by the Constitutional Court after it ruled the second and third readings of the draft legislation on Jan 10-11 were rigged by proxy voting by at least four government MPs.
The court said the budget bill was only partially constitutional and ordered MPs to vote again on the sections affected by proxy voting.
The bill was finally passed on Thursday, but the government may not be able to sit back and relax, according to political observers.
Future Forward Party (FFP) secretary-general Piyabutr Saengkanokkul voiced strong disagreement with the re-vote, saying the court may have overstepped the mark.
In his opinion, the court was asked to rule whether the bill should be dropped or left to be enacted in its entirety, and it was not within its jurisdiction to order a re-vote.
Mr Piyabutr, a list-MP, said the court's jurisdiction should be clearly defined to ensure the ruling is not seen as dictating to parliament.
His comment was rebuffed by Jade Donavanik, former adviser to the Constitution Drafting Committee. "The court ruling has binding effects on every agency. If the House wants the law-making process completed, it has to re-vote," he said.
According to Mr Jade, the court's ruling also ensured parliamentary scrutiny of the bill did not go to waste.
Without a re-vote, parliament would have had to resort to the rigged version, invalidating all the changes made during scrutiny of the bill. In that case, the rigged bill would have been adopted with all its original content intact, including untrimmed funds for the various ministries.
This would also have meant that changes made to the bill by the special House committee set up to examine draft laws would be discarded, Mr Jade said.
Mr Chuan, meanwhile, said the re-vote was fair and legitimate and above all a done deal despite the opposition's concern that the bill was passed after the deadline.
According to the opposition, the 105-day time limit to pass the budget may have lapsed last month after the bill was initially cleared by the House, rendering the re-vote illegitimate.
However, Mr Chuan explained the timeline did not apply to the re-vote because it was a new process triggered by the court's order.
Chuan: Proxies face penalty
Budget bill fallout
House Speaker Chuan Leekpai has vowed to press ahead with a probe into illegal proxy voting by some coalition MPs during the House deliberation of the budget bill.
He has assigned Anant Phol-amnuay, a Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) MP who chairs a committee on House affairs, to look into the issue after the parliament secretary-general said no officials were brave enough to investigate the MPs.
Mr Chuan said the House will forward the findings to the National Anti-Corruption Commission for further action against the wrongdoers. "No one will be spared punishment," he said.
Mr Anant told the Bangkok Post that it was initially agreed that a neutral party such as the parliament secretary-general should investigate to ensure impartiality.
But parliament officials distanced themselves from the issue, so the House committee had to step in, he said. The panel, however, has no authority to investigate the affair.
"This is because the new House regulations do not allow the committee to investigate MPs, only to gather facts."
He added that House meetings were facing hiccups over having to share the meeting room with the Senate while a new chamber is constructed. The room can seat 350 MPs and there are not enough voting machines to accommodate all 500 MPs at the same time. This means they have to take turns when they cast their votes on legislation, Mr Anant said.
Sources close to the matter said it was possible that sharing machines could be mistaken for proxy voting.
On Thursday, the 3.2-trillion-baht budget bill, a crucial piece of legislation for oiling the economy, was approved by the House in a re-vote ordered by the Constitutional Court.
The court order came after two government MPs were registered as voting on the bill's second and third readings on Jan 10 and 11 despite not being present.
Asked to rule if the entire bill should be invalidated on account of the proxy votes, the court instead it ordered a re-vote on the second and third readings.
Two Bhumjaithai MPs, Chalong Therdwirapong and Natee Ratchakitprakarn, were recorded as having voted to pass the budget despite not being in the House on Jan 10-11. A clip aired on Channel 7 also showed Prim Pooncharoen of the PPRP and Somboon Zarum of the Bhumjaithai Party inserting more than one card into voting machines.
Anudit Nakhontap, secretary-general of the main opposition Pheu Thai Party, called on the proxy voters to resign.
The irregularity was exposed by Nipit Intarasombat, a former Democrat MP, who supplied evidence that the MPs were elsewhere when their votes were cast.
Mr Nipit lost to Mr Chalong in Phatthalung in last year's general election. The Democrat member denied he was motivated by a desire to settle an old score with Mr Chalong.
Suchart: Party united
Jockeying for positions
Last week, the ruling Palang Pracharath Party's (PPRP) Sam Mitr faction grabbed the chance to stage a show of force ahead of the upcoming censure debate. This week, the group has been given a run for its money.
The Sam Mitr's luncheon was attended by 50 MPs loyal to the group, prompting talk it was sending a warning against any move to snatch away its ministerial seats in a reshuffle following the censure debate.
Political insiders said almost half of the PPRP's MPs turned up for the lunch. The founders of Sam Mitr denied it was being resurrected, contending that the faction was merely a provisional entity set up to help the PPRP win the general election and had since been disbanded.
However, last week's luncheon demonstrated the faction is still very much alive, said observers.
Sam Mitr's founders, including Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit and Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin, are apparently wary of the faction's real and present influence, according to insiders.
Sam Mitr helped the PPRP win election victories in many constituencies and its power within the party is the envy of other PPRP factions. Critics, meanwhile, brand it an exclusive club with "divisive" tendencies.
But Sam Mitr is not the only faction capable of throwing "power lunches".
On Tuesday, another major faction in the PPRP got together over a meal in Bangkok. It was hosted by leading members of a group led by chief government whip Virat Ratanasate and Suchart Chomklin, chief of the party's MPs.
PPRP heavyweights spotted at the lunch included Deputy Finance Minister Santi Promphat and party deputy leader Paiboon Nititawan.
The venue was the PPRP's new headquarters on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, giving the 80 MPs present an opportunity to look around the party's latest nerve centre.
Mr Suchart insisted the ruling party was not divided, saying it always operated as a single and united entity -- a tag line which Sam Mitr also echoed, according to observers.
He also echoed Sam Mitr in denying that the group was warning key party decision-makers it would to go to any lengths to defend its ministerial quota from being "squeezed" should there be a post-censure debate reshuffle.
Mr Suchart said it was natural for MPs and members to form groups with the people they feel close to in the party.
"The groups are like subsidiaries whereas the party is like the mother firm. Everyone moves in the same direction and reports to Gen Prawit," he said, referring to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, the PPRP's chief strategist.
Mr Suchart also dismissed speculation that he was waiting in the wings to clinch a ministerial post. "This is something way beyond my imagination," he said.