Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra survives no-confidence vote amid street protests

Thailand’s embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has survived a no-confidence vote against her, as mass street protests continued in Bangkok.

The ruling Puea Thai Party and coalition partners dominate the lower house with 299 seats and comfortably survived the three-day no-confidence debate.

Ms Yingluck won the vote of confidence on Thursday, with 297 lawmakers voting in her favour and 134 against.

However the vote is unlikely to defuse tensions or end the biggest anti-government protests since deadly political unrest in 2010.

Protesters seeking to topple the prime minister have taken to the streets for a fourth consecutive day, declaring they will take over “every ministry” of the government.

They accuse Ms Yingluk and her government of acting as a stooge to her brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 coup.

Thaksin, the billionaire tycoon-turned-politician, is adored by many of the country’s rural and urban working class. But he is reviled by many in the elite and the middle classes.

The opposition Democrat Party brought the no-confidence motion, alleging Ms Yingluck and her government had overseen widespread corruption.

Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban has ruled out talks with the government or other parties.

“No more negotiations,” Mr Suthep told cheering crowds late on Wednesday after thousands massed outside four Thai government ministries, a major state office complex and 31 provincial halls.

While the rallies have so far been largely peaceful, there are fears they could escalate into street violence in a country that has seen several episodes of political unrest.

On Wednesday, protesters forced staff to leave the Justice Department’s besieged Department of Special Investigations.

Outside Bangkok, demonstrators gathered at about 25 provincial halls mainly in the opposition’s southern heartlands – including on the tourist island of Phuket.

The anti-government campaign started last month after the ruling party tried to pass an amnesty bill that critics said was designed to absolve Thaksin of his 2008 graft conviction. Source: ABC News.