Democrats seek to impeach Pracha over floods

The Democrat Party has lodged an impeachment motion against Justice Minister Pracha Promnok accusing him of botching flood-control operations, chief opposition whip Jurin Laksanawisit said yesterday.

"A total of 148 Democrats have endorsed the impeachment and will take the next step to censure Pracha within the current House session," he said.

Jurin said the Democrats would proceed with impeachment and censure even though other opposition parties had not co-sponsored the motions.

He said he was confident that the censure debate against Pracha could take place before the end of the current session of the House of Representatives.

He also stated that six Pheu Thai MPs were targets for impeachment for transgression in their use of executive power in handling the flooding situation.

The six are Karun Hosakul, Thanusak Lekuthai, Jirayu Huangsap, Surachart Thienthong, Vicharn Minchainant and Vorachai Hemma.

Under the Constitution, the opposition is obligated to file for impeachment before censuring Pracha, as it involves charges of irregularities.

It is the Senate Secretariat's responsibility to verify the signatures of the 148 Democrats within 30 days, before forwarding the motion to the National Anti-Corruption Commission to determine whether there are grounds for impeachment.

Should the NACC rule that it suspects foul play, the Senate will convene an impeachment trial.

House Speaker Somsak Kiartsuranont said the censure debate might be inappropriate because Pracha was not involved in the alleged irregularities in distributing flood-relief supplies.

Somsak said the government was doing its utmost to mitigate the flood crisis.

Bhum Jai Thai Party spokesman Supachai Jaisamut dismissed talk of a rift between the opposition parties.

The Democrats only notified his party about the impeachment motion against Pracha on Wednesday, so Bhum Jai Thai did not have time to adopt a stance on the issue and gather the necessary signatures, Supachai said. He said his junior opposition party agreed with the charges against Pracha.