The Consitutional Court of Thailand, on Wednesday, i.e., August 14, removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for violating the Consitution and breaching rules of ethics in connection with a cabinet appointment of a lawyer who served jail terms.
The Court remarked that Thavisin had grossly breached rules of ethics.
Notably, Srettha Thavisin becomes the fourth Thai Prime Minister in the past 16 years to be sacked following the court verdicts. Following the dismissal of the Thai PM, the Parliament will have to select a new Prime Minister, indicating the rise in possibility of uncertainty in the country, which has seen judicial verdicts repeatedly topple the governments as well as political parties in the past two decades.
Srettha had appointed Pichit Chuenban as a cabinet minister in a cabinet reshuffle in April this year. Notably, Chuenban was imprisoned for six months in 2008 in an alleged bribery case. However, he had resigned from the post following a controversy revolving around his inclusion into the cabinet.
Meanwhile, this also follows another verdict of the Constitutional Court of Thailand which saw the dissolution anti-establishment Move Forward Party (MFP), a popular opposition group. The court ruled that its efforts to reform a law against insulting the monarchy threatened the constitutional monarchy. The MFP reformed under a new name on Friday, CNA reported.
Belonging to the party named 'Pheu Thai', Srettha Thavisin had assumed office in 2023, after securing a parliamentary vote.
Unless the Parliament appoints its new Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai is anticipated to serve as the caretaker PM of Thailand.
