Thailand’s Constitutional Court removes Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin
In office since August 2023, Thavisin allegedly violated the constitution by appointing a minister involved in an old corruption case. Now Thailand’s parliament will have to choose a new PM amid uncertainty and constitutional row. The fragile truce between Thaksin Shinawatra and his enemies in the conservative elite and the military old guard is at risk.
Bangkok (AsiaNews) – Fresh clouds are gathering over Thailand, with the prospect of renewed confrontation and the government alliance facing a deep crisis, after a decision by the Constitutional Court to dismiss Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin over the appointment to his cabinet of a former lawyer who served time in prison.
The real estate tycoon, in office since August 2023, is the fourth prime minister to be removed in 16 years by the same court, after the justices ruled that he violated the constitution by appointing a minister who did not meet ethical standards.
Now the Thai parliament will have to choose a new prime minister, amid greater uncertainty in a country already affected by two decades of coups d'état and legal rulings that have brought down several governments and political parties.
Last week, the same court dissolved the anti-establishment Move Forward party, ruling that its campaign to reform a lèse majesté law risked undermining the constitutional monarchy. As a result, Move Forward lawmakers set up a new party.
The fragile truce between political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra and his enemies in the conservative elite and the military old guard, which allowed the tycoon's return from 15 years of self-exile in 2023, is now at risk.
Srettha Thavisin, a member of Pheu Thai, a party headed by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ended up before the constitutional court after some 40 senators filed a case over alleged irregularities in choosing cabinet members.
The complaint is based on the appointment of Pichit Chuenban as head of the Prime Minister's Office; the latter was charged in 2008 with attempted bribery of a Supreme Court official set to rule in a land purchase case involving then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Pichit immediately resigned to avoid harming Srettha, but this was not enough to avert the case going to court.
This was another legal move by the Senate, whose members are appointed exclusively by the military and pro-monarchist establishment, to strike at their adversaries in the other chamber of parliament.
In fact, the upper house repeatedly prevented the party that won the May 2023 elections, the progressive Move Forward, from leading the country.
For several observers, the court case against Thavisin is a warning to Thaksin's newfound activism.
Now Minister of Commerce and Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai is expected to become acting prime minister, while the parties decide on the name of the next head of government from a list of candidates.
The speaker of the National Assembly (lower house) will convene the body to vote for the next prime minister who needs the support of more than half of the 493 members (247 votes) to be elected.
The new prime minister must then appoint a cabinet, which must present its policies to parliament before it can begin governing.
One of the frontrunners for the post is Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, Thaksin Shinawatra’s daughter, who heads the Pheu Thai party, who would become the third Shinawatra to hold the office of prime minister if she is chosen.
Other names are Chaikasem Nitisiri, former Minister of Justice and supporter of the Pheu Thai party; and Anutin Charnvirakul, Minister of the Interior and Deputy Prime Minister who successfully pushed for cannabis liberalisation in Thailand. As leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, he heads the second largest parliamentary group in the coalition.
Other candidates are Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, head of the conservative Thai Raksa Chart party, and Prawit Wongsuwan, influential retired commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army who leads the conservative and military-aligned Palang Pracharat party.
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13/03/2024 14:46
