Mingkwan and his press release of April last year, saying that his party had never negotiated to join the government coalition.

Mingkwan Sangsuwan has announced that he will remain with the opposition after 5 MPs of his New Economics Party left to work as "independent faction".

"I would like to announce that I will no longer join the ideology of the New Economics Party. I would like to declare a definitive separation," said Mingkwan in front of the parliament building today.

He is now the only MP in the New Economics Party to side with the opposition. But the Constitution does not require a member to follow a party's resolutions, so he can still remain in the Party for now.

However, this cuts both ways. On 11 January, the 5 MPs of the New Economics Party voted in support of the budget bill against the opposition stance of abstention. Last Thursday, the party held a meeting and voted to leave the opposition bloc. Mingkwan said he did not receive any notice of the meeting.

He will not resign from the party yet because he said he still wants to participate in the no-confidence motion, which is expected to be held from 23-24 February. The motion will focus on 6 ministers, including Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, Wissanu Krea-ngam, Anupong Paochinda, Don Pramudwinai, and Thammanat Prompow.

The New Economics Party, including Mingkwan, has been harshly criticized as 'cobras', a pejorative term for political defectors in Thailand. After his speech today, Mingkwan hoped to clear his name for good. "I hoped this is the last time I will be berated," said Mingkwan.

Mingkwan, the former head of an economic team in a pro-Thaksin cabinet, founded the New Economics Party in November 2018. The party ran an election campaign with anti-junta messages and proposed economic reform. Their policies included making Thailand the financial hub of Asia, reserving e-commerce for Thais, welcoming more tourists and supporting street food. They won 6 MPs with around 70,000 votes in the last election in March.

However, they have been frequently criticized with accusations that they were going to join the government coalition. The first sign of defection was shown when Mingkwan resigned as party leader in May last year. Last November, 5 MPs of the party also voted against the opposition motion to establish a committee to study the impacts of Section 44, prior to their support of the budget bill.

An "independent faction" is generally seen as a path to joining the government coalition. This would follow the example of Mongkolkit Suksintharanon and Pichet Sathirachawal, leaders of microparties who left the pro-junta camp to form an "independent faction" out of disappointment at not getting cabinet seats, only to re-join the government in January without any promise of a position.