BANGKOK – Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday dismissed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for “grossly” violating ethics by appointing a minister who served jail time, raising the specter of political upheaval and a shakeup in the governing alliance.
Real estate tycoon Srettha becomes the fourth Thai premier in 16 years to be removed in verdicts by the same court, after its judges ruled 5-4 in favor of dismissing him for failing to perform his duty with integrity.
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 court has found 5-4 that the accused is terminated as prime minister due to his lack of honesty,” the judges said, adding his behavior “grossly breached ethical standards”.
The ruling underlines the central role Thailand’s judiciary has played in politics, with the same court last week dissolving the anti-establishment Move Forward Party after ruling its campaign to reform a law against insulting the crown risked undermining the constitutional monarchy.
Move Forward’s surviving lawmakers regrouped on Friday under a new party.
The decision also 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% for 2024, lagging regional peers, while Thailand has been Asia’s worst-performing market this year with its main stock index down about 17% year-to-date.
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 their rivals in the conservative establishment and royalist military.