BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha survived a no-confidence vote Saturday in parliament amid allegations that his government mismanaged the economy, bungled the provision of COVID-19 vaccines, abused human rights and fostered corruption.

Nine other ministers also survived the vote.

It marked the second no-confidence test Prayuth’s government has faced since taking office in July 2019, following a contested election after Prayuth seized power in a 2014 coup as the army chief. In February last year, Prayuth and five Cabinet ministers easily defeated a no-confidence vote in the lower house.

In the latest motion, his government was also criticized for misusing its power to promote police officials and for establishing a cyber unit to attack government critics on social media, among other complaints.

But a more serious allegation was that Prayuth has deepened divisions in society by using the monarchy as a shield against criticism of his government.

A student-led protest movement has campaigned since last year for Prayuth and his government to step down. They want the constitution to be amended to make it more democratic, and for the monarchy to be reformed to make it more accountable.

“The biggest fault of Prayuth is that he does not understand the principles of the constitutional monarchy,” said Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the opposition Move Forward Party.

“He used the monarchy to protect himself whenever he was criticized or opposed. This is an evil action, making him no longer qualified to be prime minister,” he said.

His accusation refers to the enforcement of Article 112 in the criminal code, also known as the lese majeste law. Prayuth said in June last year that King Maha Vajiralongkorn had expressed his wish for the government not to use the law against defaming the monarchy to prosecute pro-democracy protesters.

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, a popular politician who was forced out of parliament last year, was charged last month with lese majeste for alleging that the government’s procurement of COVID-19 vaccines was late and inadequate, and that there was possible favoritism in the awarding of the main contract.

The criticism relates to the monarchy because most of the vaccines that Thailand has ordered are to be produced by Siam Bioscience, a private Thai company owned by the king.

The monarchy is widely considered an untouchable bedrock of Thai nationalism.

The lese majeste law allows anyone to file a complaint with the police, with convictions carrying jail terms of up to 15 years per offense. According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, at least 59 people including several minors were summoned under the law between November and February.

Four well-known protesters including human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, student leader Parit Chiwarak, and political activists Somyos Prueksakasemsuk and Patiwat Saraiyaem were prosecuted under the law and on sedition charges earlier this month. Their lawyer requested bail but the court denied it.

Prayuth said the debate in parliament was “a good opportunity for both sides to do something together for our country and people. And I am ready to clarify every allegation.”

Of the 487 lawmakers, 277 are part of the ruling coalition and 210 are with the opposition. The censure motion would require a simple majority, or 244 votes, to pass. Prayuth received 272 votes with 206 voting no-confidence and three remaining silent.

On Friday evening, hundreds of protesters held a mock censure motion against Prayuth and the other ministers on the street in front of the parliament building, calling out their alleged corruption and noting their failure to address rising financial inequality in Thailand.

Protesters said another rally was planned on Saturday afternoon.

Police said they would deploy more than 10,000 officers in Bangkok over the weekend to control the crowds and maintain law and order. Police vehicles, including water canon trucks, have been dispatched near the parliament.

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Associated Press writer Bill Bredesen contributed to this report.

BANGKOK — A group of activists say they will host a carnival-themed protest outside the Parliament on Friday evening as a warmup to a major rally scheduled to take place tomorrow.

Billed as “Mob Fest,” the rally will run from 5pm till midnight in front of the parliament building, according to one of the organizers, 22-year-old Siraphob Attohi. The activist said his group wants to hold a parallel censure debate in tandem with the real one unfolding inside the seat of the legislative power.

“We will invite representatives from many groups to speak out,” Siraphob, who studies at Chulalongkorn University, said in a phone interview. “For example, about abolishing Article 112, about government assistance in the COVID pandemic, and reforms of the military. It will be like a no-confidence debate outside the Parliament.”

The four-day censure debate is expected to conclude today.

Siraphob also said the protest will insist on the three key demands of the pro-democracy movement: a new charter, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s resignation, and reforms of the monarchy.

PM Prayut declined to answer reporters’ questions on Friday morning whether there would be any violence at today’s protest.

Police water trucks were already parked outside the Parliament by the late morning, though it is unclear whether they will be used. Police deployed both the water trucks and tear gas on demonstrators the last time they marched to the Parliament on Nov. 17.

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BANGKOK — Organizers of the next anti-government protest said Thursday they will only reveal its time and location tomorrow, a day before the demonstration is set to kick off.

Benja Apan, an activist from the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration, said the group wants to assess the situation after the no-confidence debate concludes on Friday. She also vowed to do more to avoid clashes between hardline demonstrators and riot police, like what happened at the protest on Feb. 13.

“We can still carry out activities within the framework of nonviolent methods, but we will have to explain to our supporters what peaceful tactics there are. We will have to do more homework,” Benja said in a phone interview. “We will give information about nonviolence, both on social media and in speeches on [Saturday].”

Benja said activities to promote peaceful struggles include discussion to be held on the Clubhouse application at 8pm Thursday night, while leaflets about nonviolence will be distributed at Saturday’s rally.

The previous demonstration on Feb. 13 ended in a night of violence and chaos after hardline elements of the protesters broke off from the main body and threw projectiles at riot police. They also refused to disperse even after organizers called off the rally, which soon led to clashes with riot police who attempted to clear the area.

By the time the violence subsided, the Erawan medical emergency center reported that at least 25 people were injured, including 20 police officers and five civilians. Two protest guards said they were shot by unidentified assailants, who fled the scene. One volunteer medic was beaten by riot police.

Images and videos of frontline demonstrators throwing objects at police were also seized by pro-establishment social media accounts to paint the protesters as a violent and unruly mob.

Piyarat “Toto” Chongthep, the leader of WeVo group, which provided security at protest sites, said said on the phone Thursday that he will urge his supporters members of his network via Facebook Live tonight to avoid violence.

Success is not guaranteed, however. It was also WeVo members who were seen splashing paint at riot police on the night of Feb. 13.

“We’ll have to avoid clashes as much as possible, but it’s difficult, because the emotion of the protesters can escalate very far,” Piyarat said. “As a preliminary measure, I will talk about this on Facebook Live. I will talk about how to handle security officers and organized groups of the pro-monarchy people.”

The WeVo leader also maintained that his group has always been committed to nonviolence.

“We urged each other not to respond to the security forces and refrain from using weapons, because it would grant the security officers a justification to respond [with violence],” Piyarat said. “But it’s hard to control people’s emotions. If the leaders build up the emotion, they must also bring it down.”

Pro-democracy activist Sirawith Seritiwat, aka Ja New, said he was initially invited to speak on stage at the Feb. 13 protest, but organizers changed their plan and marched from Democracy Monument toward Sanam Luang instead, leading to the clashes.

“It depends on the leaders whether they can control the situation. People sometimes lost control of themselves and ordered a charge. They must be conscious all the time,” Sirawith said by phone. “They said they would stick to nonviolence, but they couldn’t stop the violence.”

He also questioned the decision to march on Sanam Luang last week, since the area was close to the Grand Palace and considered sensitive by the authorities.

“Perhaps Sanam Luang was the heart of the regime,” Sirawith said. “They will defend it with the fullest effort. If the protesters don’t have enough people, they shouldn’t risk entering the 150 meter radius from the palace.”

Benja, the organizer of the upcoming protest on Saturday, would not say where the rally would take place. But she said the leaders will insist on the three key demands for a new constitution, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s resignation, and reforms to make the monarchy more accountable, as well as calling for the release of four protest leaders currently held in a remand prison.

The four leaders are Arnon Nampa, Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak and Patiwat “Bank” Saraiyam. They were charged with insulting the monarchy and sedition for their role in the protest on Sept. 19.

The Criminal Court denied their second bail application on Wednesday, saying there is no reason to change the stance on the cases. The four have been in pre-trial detention for 10 days now.