Thailand Constitutional Court temporarily suspends PM Prayuth Chan-ocha

A Constitutional Court on Wednesday ordered Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to suspend his active duties pending a decision on whether he has overstayed his legal term in office.

With the suspension of PM Prayuth, there has been no immediate announcement of who will take on the role of acting prime minister. As per the country’s law, PM Prayuth’s highest ranked deputy, Dy PM Prawit Wongsuwan would be the acting PM. 

Dy PM Prawit is a close PM Prayuth ally and belongs to the same military clique whose 2014 coup resulted in the PM gaining power.

A petition from opposition legislators arguing that the PM has overstayed his term limit and should step down is being mulled in court, which decided unanimously there is reason to consider the plea. 

The court agreed to suspend PM Prayuth until a decision is made. PM Prayuth is also the defence minister of the country but the court’s official statement does not mention if he can still continue in that capacity. 

The court has sought defense from Prayuth within 15 days of receiving a copy of the complaint. Whether Prayuth stands in breach of a constitutional clause over a 8-year limit for a PM was not mentioned. If the court decides on such a ruling, then he would automatically have lost his PM post. 

Prayuth came to power in 2014 with the help of a military coup that ousted Thailand’s elected government. 

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