After the meeting, Mr. Niwattumrong said the Cabinet cannot resign because it would be unconstitutional to do so. He insisted he “can carry out duties and has full authority” as prime minister.
The Cabinet has operated in a caretaker capacity with limited power since Ms. Yingluck dissolved the lower house in December in a failed bid to ease the political crisis. A new government cannot normally be named until there are elections, which anti-government demonstrators have vowed to block unless political reforms occur first.
The Senate, the only functioning legislative body in the country, was seen as the last resort of the anti-government protesters, who are calling for an interim, unelected prime minister to be chosen.
The protesters say they are making their final push to oust the government and install an unelected prime minister and government. They have promised to call off their rallies if they are not successful by May 26, following six months of street demonstrations in which 28 people have died and hundreds of others have been injured.
