NLA members voted 231-4 in favour of the action, with three abstentions.

With the impeachment, Surapong is banned from politics for five years starting today. When the new charter is put into effect, the impeachment could mean a lifetime ban.

The former foreign minister was accused of illegally returning the two Thai passports to Thaksin, who has been living in exile since his conviction in a land deal case, which allegedly benefited his family.

His two passports were revoked in 2009 by the Abhisit government, but in the subsequent government Surapong returned them to him, arguing Thaksin was not a threat to the country as claimed.

However, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) found Surapong guilty of malfeasance and forwarded the case to the NLA. NACC commissioner Supa Piyachiti, who was responsible for the case, said returning the passports to the former prime minister breached the Foreign Ministry’s regulations prohibiting the issuance of travel documents to terrorism suspects.