Thai lawmakers to elect Srettha’s successor after court ousts PM

Thailand’s legislature plans to meet Friday to elect a new prime minister after the Constitutional Court removed Srettha Thavisin from office on Wednesday, ruling that he committed an ethical violation by knowingly appointing a cabinet member with a criminal record.

In a 5-4 verdict that dissolved Srettha’s government, which was in power for 11 months, the court said he was responsible for vetting his cabinet nominations. It ruled he was aware of the past conviction of ally Pichit Chuenban, a former lawyer who had been detained for six months in 2008 for contempt of court.

For the time being, Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai is expected to serve as acting prime minister. If Phumtham is unavailable, the role would fall to second Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit. 

“The facts show that the respondent [Srettha] knew or should have known about various circumstances of the second respondent [Pichit] throughout, but still proposed to appoint the second respondent as minister in the Prime Minister’s Office,” the court ruled.  

“This demonstrates that the respondent lacks obvious honesty and integrity,” the verdict said, noting he did not comply with ethical standards.

The current cabinet is expected to continue in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed – Parliament is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Friday to elect a prime minister.

Srettha, a member of the Pheu Thai Party and Thailand’s first civilian prime minister after almost a decade of military rule, did not attend the court session on Wednesday but responded to the verdict during a news conference at Government House in Bangkok.

“I accept the ruling and confirm that throughout my time in this position, I worked with integrity,” he said. “I’m not looking at whether I’ll be disqualified or not, but I’m sad that I’ll be removed as a prime minister without ethics. I’m confident that I am an ethical person.”

Pichit, Srettha’s problematic appointee, had resigned on May 21 to avoid impacting the administration’s work, despite maintaining that he was fully qualified to serve. 

“To allow the country to move forward and not affect the prime minister’s administration of state affairs, which needs to proceed with continuity, I am not clinging to the position,” Pichit said in his resignation letter. 

Srettha’s successor must come from a list of candidates put forward ahead of the 2023 general election by parties that won at least 25 parliamentary seats. 

This narrows the field to potential candidates from several parties. These include Paetongtarn Shinawatra and Chaikasem Nitisiri from Pheu Thai; Anutin Charnvirakul from the Bhumjaithai Party; Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan from the Palang Pracharath Party; former Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha; and Pirapan Salirathavibhaga from the United Thai Nation Party, and Jurin Laksanawisit from the Democrat Party.

Paetongtarn is the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was forced from office by a military coup in 2006 and spent years in self-exile before returning to Thailand last year. Following his return, Thaksin spent six months in a prison hospital on corruption charges.

Prayuth, a former army chief who took power after leading a 2014 military coup that overthrew then-Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Thaksin’s sister, had announced he was leaving politics after losing power in the 2023 election. Despite that announcement, Prayuth is a candidate because his party named him ahead of the vote.

‘Snack bag case’

Srettha, a former real estate tycoon, was elected prime minister in August 2023 after the Pheu Thai Party formed a coalition government despite finishing second in the election. The Move Forward Party, which won the most seats, was unable to form a government because of opposition from military-appointed senators over its stance on reforming lèse-majesté, the strict law against royal defamation. 

The case against Pichit, known as the “snack bag case,” dates to 2008, when, while serving as a lawyer for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife in a land purchase matter, he was accused of attempting to bribe court officials with 2 million baht (U.S. $57,156).  

He allegedly placed the money in a paper grocery bag, pretending it was a snack for a court officer. This led to Pichit being found in contempt of court and serving a six-month prison sentence. 

In mid-May, 40 senators petitioned the Constitutional Court to rule on termination because of Pichit’s appointment. On May 23, the Constitutional Court agreed to consider the petition. 

“We must thank the Constitutional Court for ruling that Srettha is removed from the position of prime minister due to dishonesty and severe ethical misconduct in nominating Pichit, who had issues, despite knowing about his qualification problems from the start,” petitioner Somchai Sawaengkarn, a former senator, told reporters after learning of the verdict.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, criticized the ruling. 

“Thailand’s dark era of destroying democracy through unaccountable rulings of the conservative, elite controlled Constitutional Court continues with the dismissal of PM Srettha Thavisin. The absurdity is palpable! Watch foreign investors head for exits,” he posted.

Party disbanded

In the 2023 election, the Move Forward Party won 153 seats – the most of any party – and nominated Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister. 

His nomination failed when he could not secure backing from the former Senate, whose 250 members were allowed to vote along with the 500 members of the lower house. The senators claimed they would not support his party’s proposal to amend Article 112, also known as lèse-majesté.

Because of the controversy over Article 112, Pheu Thai, which had formed a post-electoral alliance with Move Forward, broke off ties with it and then formed a coalition that successfully nominated Srettha to serve as prime minister.

The Constitutional Court ruled against Srettha six days after it had ordered the Move Forward Party dissolved and banned Pita and 10 other leaders from politics for a decade because of their campaign to undo the royal defamation law. Two days later, remaining members reconstituted as the People’s Party.

After Wednesday’s ruling, the new party held a news conference to express concern and disagreement with it. 

“While the People’s Party affirms that political office holders should have ethics and integrity, ethics is a matter that different people interpret differently,” Parit Wacharasindhu, a party-list MP of the People’s Party, told reporters. 

The ruling against Srettha is the fourth such action by the court in 16 years, according to media reports.

Samak Sundaravej, who took office after Thaksin, was forced from office in 2008 because the court ruled he had hosted four cooking shows after taking office. Later that year, the court forced out Somchai Wongsawat after finding him guilty of electoral fraud.

In 2014, the court found Yingluck guilty of abuse of power and forced her out at the same time as the Prayuth-led coup.

Potential power shuffle

Assistant Professor Olarn Thinbangtieo, a lecturer at the Faculty of Political Science and Law at Burapha University, pointed out that the ruling would shake the stability of the old power group, adding the new prime minister might not come from Pheu Thai’s list. 

“In principle, Pheu Thai would nominate Paetongtarn as PM. However, what needs to be watched is how well Pheu Thai can maintain political stability with its current coalition partners,” Olarn told BenarNews. “They will need to consolidate power to keep the majority vote in hand. There’s a chance that the next PM might not come from Pheu Thai if the Shinawatra family assesses that Paetongtarn is not ready. 

“If the coalition parties become difficult, Pheu Thai might reverse course and join hands with the People’s Party, which would also give them a majority. But in the long run, this decision will shake the unity of the old power group because they are now facing a tough battle with the People’s Party, which has widespread support.” 

Jon Preechawong in Bangkok contributed to this report.