Thailand’s ombudsman has accepted for consideration a petition from Mr. Srisuwan Janya, secretary-general of the Thai Constitution Protection Association, regarding Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s alleged incomplete recital of an oath in the swearing-in ceremony before His Majesty the King last month.
The political activist wants the ombudsman to determine whether the Prime Minister violated Section 161 of the Constitution by not reciting the oath in full and then pass the matter to either the Constitutional or Administrative court if the ombudsman rules that the Prime Minister did violate the charter, said Mr. Raksagecha Chaechai, secretary-general of the Ombudsman’s Office, on Tuesday.
He added that he had instructed legal affairs officials of the Ombudsman’s Office to look into the facts of the matter and related legal aspects and to submit their findings to the ombudsman for consideration.
He assured that the ombudsman would treat the case as urgent because it is important and of public interest.
Meanwhile, Pheu Thai spokesman Anusorn Iamsa-ard announced that the seven-party opposition would press on with its plan to submit an interpellation to the House of Representatives to demand a clarification on the matter from the Prime Minister.
He said the Opposition would not postpone its move, as requested by the government whips, because they believe that the Prime Minister is trying to evade the issue, adding that the Prime Minister should assign someone else to make the clarification if he is too busy.
The spokesman said the Opposition advises the Prime Minister to resolve the controversy by either fixing the mistake or by amending the Constitution to right the wrong, adding that the Opposition had no intention of exploiting the issue to overthrow the government.
