Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Friday voted to dismiss Paetongtarn Shinawatra (pictured in a file photo) as prime minister after only a year in power. She was ousted for ethical violations in relation to a leaked audio recording of a phone conversation in June between her and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
The Constitutional Court’s nine judges voted 6-3 against Ms Shinawatra. This means the suspended prime minister will be immediately removed from office.
In its ruling, the court said the phone call with Hun Sen had “caused the public to cast doubt” on whether her actions “would benefit Cambodia more than benefitting the nation’s interest”.
Her action “caused the public to lose trust and faith towards the Thai premiership” and caused “grave damage” to her work, the court stated, as reported by the BBC.
The initial suspension of Ms Shinawatra – announced on July 1 – as prime minister of Thailand’s coalition government came as a setback to the country’s casino-resort legalisation effort, several commentators had suggested to GGRAsia.
Her coalition government, including the Pheu Thai party she has been representing, had been promoting a policy to legalise entertainment complexes, each due to house a casino.
In early July, Thailand’s House of Representatives voted by a large majority to approve a cabinet-requested withdrawal of the Entertainment Complex Bill.
The complaint against her to the Constitutional Court cited her handling of the phone call relating to a deadly border clash in March between Thai and Cambodian soldiers.
In the call, she is said to have referred to a Thai army commander as an “opponent”. Thai senators that submitted a complaint to the Constitutional Court on the matter, suggested this showed Ms Shinawatra lacked a sense of responsibility and integrity, and put the country’s sovereignty at risk.
Subsequent to news of the leaked phone call, the Bhumjaithai Party – which had been the second-largest grouping in the coalition after Pheu Thai – withdrew from the government, citing the call as a factor. Bhumjaithai’s exit reduced the coalition’s majority in parliament.
Phumtham Wechayachai, the first deputy prime minister, will continue to serve as acting prime minister, a role he assumed in July.
A new prime minister will be chosen by a vote in the House of Representatives.
According to media outlets, there are currently five people eligible to be nominated as prime minister, including Chaikasem Nitisiri, from Ms Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai Party, and Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party.
