Thai prime minister survives a challenge by rivals who say her father is pulling the strings

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra easily survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament on Wednesday, following a two-day debate in which rivals charged that she has mismanaged the country and let her father, a former prime minister, control her administration.

Opposition lawmakers argued that she has been unduly influenced by her father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin is a popular but highly controversial political figure who was ousted in a 2006 military coup, fled into exile and recently returned to Thailand.

Paetongtarn’s opponents said her administration has improperly favored the personal and financial interests of her family and her father. They also accused her of tax evasion and mishandling many of the country’s chronic problems including the slumping economy, air pollution, crime and corruption.

Paetongtarn received 319 votes, with 161 voting against her and seven abstaining in the first no-confidence vote she faced since she took office last year after another Pheu Thai prime minister was removed by the Constitutional Court after it found he'd committed a serious ethical breach.

Afterward, she posted on social media thanking all parties for taking part in the vote.

“Every vote, whether in support or in opposition, is a force that will drive me and the Cabinet to continue to devoutly work for the people,” she wrote.

Paetongtarn heads the Pheu Thai Party, the latest in a string of populist parties affiliated with Thaksin. Thaksin has been at the heart of nearly two decades of deep political divisions pitting a mostly poor, rural majority that supported him against royalists, the military and their urban backers, who accuse him of threatening their status and that of the revered monarchy.

Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, fifth right on top, reacts after a no-confidence vote against her was defeated in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, third left, reacts after a no-confidence vote against her was defeated in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand's lawmakers take a selfie with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, foreground right, after a no-confidence vote against her was defeated in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, center, reacts after a no-confidence vote against her was defeated in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, left, and Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra react after a no-confidence vote against her was defeated in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrives at parliament before no-confidence vote against her in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thailand's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrives at parliament before no-confidence vote against her in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge on Saturday declined to stop billionaire Elon Musk from handing over $1 million checks to two voters in the state at a planned rally days before the closely contested Supreme Court election. The state attorney general, who argues that the offer violates the law, immediately appealed after the judge refused to hear the request for an emergency injunction to block the payments.

The ruling is the latest twist in Musk’s deep involvement in the race, which has set a record for spending in a judicial election and has become a litmus test for the opening months of Donald Trump’s presidency. Trump and Musk are backing Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel in the race, while Democrats are behind Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.

Musk plans a rally Sunday where he intends to give a pair of Wisconsin voters $1 million each for signing an online petition against “activist” judges. He is also offering $100 to anyone who signs it; he previously gave $1 million to a Green Bay man who signed.

Musk and groups he funds have poured more than $20 million into the race, while Democratic megadonors, including George Soros, back Crawford. The race will determine ideological control of the court. Liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority but a retirement this year puts the majority in play. The election concludes Tuesday.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, sued on Friday to stop the payments from Musk’s America PAC, arguing they violated a state law making it a felony to give voters anything of value in exchange for them voting.

After being turned down by Columbia County Circuit Judge Andrew Voigt, Kaul said he was going to the state Court of Appeals.

Musk’s political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the presidential election last year, offering to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. A judge in Pennsylvania said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through Election Day.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court race comes as the court is expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election.

Musk initially said in a post on his social media platform, X, that he planned to “personally hand over” $2 million to a pair of voters who have already cast their ballots in the race. Kaul asked the court to order Musk to stop promoting the Sunday giveaway and to not make any future payments to Wisconsin voters.

Even though Musk’s initial post was deleted, there has been no announcement that the payments will not be made, Kaul argued in the lawsuit.

Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.

FILE - This combination of file photos shows Brad Schimel, former Republican attorney general Brad Schimel, in Madison, Wis., Jan. 5, 2015, and Susan Crawford in June 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, Susan Crawford for Wisconsin, File)

Elon Musk departs the White House, Friday, Mar. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)