Thai court dismisses PM Srettha for breaching ethical rules in Cabinet appointment

BANGKOK: 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.
Judge Punya Udchachon, reading the ruling, said the court voted five to four to remove Srettha from office.
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 ruling coalition led by Pheu Thai will meet at 10am local time on Thursday to decide who to put forward as its candidate.
Parliament will meet at 10am local time on Friday to vote on a replacement.
According to parliamentary rules, a candidate nominated for prime minister must win support of more than half of the lower house, which currently has 493 members. 
Speaking to the media after the ruling, Srettha said he “accepts” the court’s decision on his removal but was saddened to hear that he was accused of being an unethical prime minister.
He added that he has done his best and worked with honesty. Srettha also said he did not know if current government policies would continue.
Thailand’s 500 billion baht (US$14.3 billion) digital wallet stimulus will need to wait for a new government, said acting Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat.
The scheme was planned to be rolled out in the fourth quarter.
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.
The decision could rock a fragile truce between political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra and his enemies among the conservative elite and military old guard, which enabled the tycoon’s return from 15 years of self-exile in 2023 and ally Srettha to become premier the same day.
Srettha had maintained his appointment of former Shinawatra lawyer Pichit Chuenban, who was briefly imprisoned for contempt of court in 2008 over an alleged attempt to bribe court staff, was above board. The bribery allegation was never proven and Pichit resigned in May.
Judge Punya said that Srettha must have known about lawyer Pichit Chuenban’s 2008 conviction when he appointed him to the Cabinet.
“The appointment of the second respondent (Pichit) shows the first respondent (Srettha) has no honesty and breached ethical standards,” Punya added.
Deputy premier Phumtham Wechayachai is expected to take over as caretaker prime minister.
According to some political experts, it is likely Pheu Thai would still have the clout to lead the next administration, after a period of horse-trading and uncertainty over who will be in charge.
“The coalition remains united,” said Olarn Thinbangtieo, deputy dean of Burapha University’s Faculty of Political Science and Law.
“There may be some impact on confidence, but that would be in the short term.”
The next premier would need to have been nominated a prime ministerial candidate by their parties prior to the 2023 election, with Thaksin’s 37-year-old daughter and party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra among Pheu Thai’s options.
If successful, she would be Thailand’s third Shinawatra premier after Thaksin and her aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra.
Other potential candidates include Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga and Prawit Wongsuwan, an influential former army chief who was involved in the last two coups.
The court decision comes at a tricky time for an economy that Srettha struggled to jumpstart, with weak exports and consumer spending, sky-high household debt and more than a million small businesses unable to access loans.
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 .SETI down about 17 per cent year-to-date.