BANGKOK, Aug. 14 (CNA) – Thailand's Constitutional Court on Wednesday (Aug 14) dismissed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for appointing to his Cabinet a former lawyer who served jail time, raising the spectre of more political upheaval and a reset of the governing alliance.
Real estate tycoon Srettha becomes the fourth Thai premier in 16 years to be removed by verdicts by the same court, after it ruled he violated the constitution by appointing a minister who did not meet ethical standards.
Srettha's removal after less than a year in power means parliament must convene to choose a new premier, with the prospect of more uncertainty in a country dogged for two decades by coups and court rulings that have brought down multiple governments and political parties.
The same court last week dissolved the anti-establishment Move Forward Party (MFP), the hugely popular opposition, ruling that its campaign to reform a law against insulting the crown risked undermining the constitutional monarchy. It regrouped on Friday under a new party.
Srettha's Pheu Thai Party and its predecessors have borne the brunt of Thailand's turmoil, with two of its governments removed by coups in a long-running grudge match between the party's founders, the billionaire Shinawatra family, and its rivals in the conservative establishment and royalist military.
Srettha denies wrongdoing in appointing to Cabinet former Shinawatra lawyer Pichit Chuenban, who was briefly imprisoned for contempt of court in 2008 over an alleged attempt to bribe court staff, which was never proven.
Pichit, who was sentenced to six months' jail, quit the Cabinet in a bid to save Srettha, but the court pressed ahead with the case.
The court case highlights old divisions in Thai politics between the conservative, pro-royalist, pro-military establishment and progressive parties such as Pheu Thai and its new rival MFP.
The 40 senators who brought the complaint were all appointed by the military junta that ousted an elected Pheu Thai government in a coup in 2014.
The Senate also played a crucial role in thwarting MFP's attempt to form a government after it won the most seats in last year's general election.
Senators alarmed by its pledges to reform lese-majeste laws and break up powerful business monopolies refused to endorse MFP's then leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister and the party was forced into opposition.
The decision comes at a tricky time for Thailand's economy, which Srettha has struggled to jump-start.
The government has estimated growth of just 2.7 per cent for 2024, lagging regional peers, while Thailand has been Asia's worst-performing market this year with its main stock index down about 17 per cent year-to-date.
Photo from AFP
