The six-party opposition camp on Monday lodged a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and five other cabinet ministers, with a censure debate expected to take place within a month.
The motion is the third of its kind to be filed by the opposition against the PM and his cabinet.
House Speaker Chuan Leekpai said the motion will be included as an urgent agenda item once it is verified by the House of Representatives -- a process which should take no more than seven days. The cabinet ministers named in the no-confidence motion are Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sri-on, Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin and Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn.
Mr Chuan said the government, the opposition and the cabinet representatives will hold talks to schedule a censure debate, which is likely to take place late this month or in early September. He also noted that once the motion is accepted for consideration, the prime minister will not be able to dissolve the House.
Opposition leader and Pheu Thai MP Sompong Amornvivat said the no-confidence motion was necessitated by the government's flawed management of the pandemic, in terms of vaccine procurement and mitigating its economic impact. He said opposition parties have thoroughly discussed the government's performance and are expecting to get at least three days to grill Gen Prayut and the ministers named in the motion. Mr Sompong called on government MPs to hear out the opposition before casting a vote of confidence in support of the motion's targets.
Meanwhile, Move Forward Party leader Pita Limcharoenrat said Gen Prayut does not have the legitimacy to lead the country. He also affirmed there was no conflict within the opposition bloc despite their differences, adding the opposition parties have agreed that public interest will come first.
"This debate will be different from the previous one because the people's plight and problems have worsened," he said. "When we announced the plan to grill the government, the public immediately began sending in information for us."