Bangkok: Parliament collapses after Anutin’s government votes on the Clean Air Act.
According to Thai News Agency, during the House meeting to consider the draft Clean Air Management Act, chaired by the special committee led by Mr. Chakraphol Tangsutthitham, Deputy Secretary-General of the Pheu Thai Party, the committee completed its deliberations. The contents took over a year and eight months to be finalized before being submitted to the House for second and third readings. During the afternoon debate, voting on each section of the draft Clean Air Management Act remained even more choppy than before. For each section, only two or three MPs showed up to constitute a quorum. Up until Section 22, 246 people showed up to constitute a quorum, just in time for the meeting. However, when the ballots were inserted to vote whether to approve or disapprove of the section, only 245 votes were cast, not a quorum. However, Mr. Chalat Khamchuang, the Second Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who was acting as the meeting chairman, stated that one more member had verbally voted, bringing the
total to 246. This prompted members of the Prachachon Party, including Mr. Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, a party-list MP, and Mr. Rangsiman Rome, to protest, insisting that the ballots did not constitute a quorum and that no additional verbal votes had been cast. They requested that this be verified.
Mr. Chalat ordered officials to re-examine the votes. He discovered that the members who had cast additional verbal votes had already inserted their ballots, deeming the meeting incomplete. The meeting was immediately voided, and Mr. Chalat ordered the meeting to be adjourned at 4:00 PM. Reporters also noted that the tunnel collapse on Samsen Road in front of Vajira Hospital has resulted in water shortages in the surrounding area. Following today’s additional burst water pipes, water is also out of service at Parliament House. As of 3:30 PM, most restrooms in the area are without water. Only a few are usable due to a water reserve. This has forced housekeepers to turn off lights or inform visitors, media, and MPs searching for restrooms that the restrooms are unavailable due to the water shortage.
The water warning area covers the Kiak Kai Intersection, where the Parliament building is located.