In a significant and unexpected move, Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ordered the removal of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office, marking the fourth time in 16 years that the court has ousted a sitting Thai prime minister. Srettha’s dismissal stems from his appointment of a minister with a criminal conviction, a decision the court ruled fell short of the kingdom’s official moral and ethical standards.
The court’s decision, delivered on Wednesday by Judge Punya Udchachon, saw a narrow 5-4 vote against Srettha. The controversy centered around Srettha’s appointment of Pichit Chuenban, a former lawyer who served a six-month jail sentence in 2008 for contempt of court. Pichit resigned from his ministerial position on Tuesday in an attempt to shield Srettha, but the court’s ruling proceeded nonetheless.
This ruling comes just days after the court had accepted a petition from 40 senators calling for Srettha’s removal, though the judges initially rejected a request to suspend him from office during the investigation.
Srettha, a real estate magnate who had only been in power for less than a year, expressed surprise at the court’s decision but stated his respect for the verdict. “I respect the verdict. I reiterate that for the almost one year I have been in this role, I have tried with good intentions to lead the country with honesty,” he told reporters.
The prime minister’s sudden removal plunges Thailand back into political uncertainty, a country that has seen multiple governments and political parties toppled by coups and court rulings over the past two decades. The decision is also likely to strain the fragile truce between former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his rivals within the conservative elite and military old guard, which had paved the way for Srettha’s rise to power and Thaksin’s return from 15 years of self-exile.
With Srettha’s departure, Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai is expected to step in as caretaker premier. The Pheu Thai Party, which Srettha represents, will now need to swiftly nominate a new candidate for prime minister. Speculation has already begun around potential successors, including Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, and other influential figures like Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga.
This latest development follows closely on the heels of the Constitutional Court’s dissolution of the Move Forward Party, the leading opposition group, further shaking Thailand’s political landscape. The future of the country’s leadership now hangs in the balance as the Pheu Thai Party and its rivals prepare for the next steps in this ongoing political saga.
