Thailand ? Thailand’s prime minister survived a no-confidence vote today, fending off opposition accusations of incompetence, mismanagement and yielding national sovereignty.

The parliamentary opposition’s motion against Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was rejected today in the 470-member lower house of Parliament by a vote of 280-162, with the rest of the lawmakers abstaining or absent. The lawmakers also rejected no-confidence motions against seven other Cabinet members.

The voting results were largely expected because Samak’s six-party coalition, led by his People’s Power Party, controls two-thirds of the seats in the lower house.

Despite the victory, Samak and his government continue to face political hurdles including street protests that have hounded his government for the past month.

Critics accuse Samak’s government, which took office in February, of mismanaging the ailing Thai economy and of being a proxy for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. He has angrily denied all the allegations.