BANGKOK — Thailand’s government held its first official meetings Thursday under an acting prime minister, after a court ordered the suspension of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha a day earlier while it considered if he violated the position’s legal term limits.
Prayuth’s removal is likely to only be temporary since the Constitutional Court has generally ruled in the government’s favor in a slew of political cases. Tipanan Sirichana, deputy spokesperson from the Prime Minister’s Office, said the court decision meant Prayuth was suspended until a final decision, though no date was set for that.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan has assumed the role of acting prime minister, taking over Prayuth’s duties.
Prayuth, while suspended from prime minister duties, has kept his other Cabinet position as defense minister, and in that capacity he attended a monthly meeting of the government’s Defense Council, participating via video.
Protest
Any court ruling allowing Prayuth to stay on as prime minster risks invigorating a protest movement that has long sought to oust him and reopening deep fissures in Thailand, which has been rocked by repeated bursts of political chaos since a coup toppled then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006.
Since then, Thaksin, a telecoms billionaire whose populist appeal threatened the traditional power structure, has remained at the center of the country’s politics, as his supporters and opponents fought for power both at the ballot box and in the streets, sometimes violently. The 2014 takeover ousted his sister’s government from power.
Prayuth’s detractors contend he has violated a law that limits prime ministers to eight years in power — a threshold they say he hit Tuesday since he officially became prime minister on Aug. 24, 2014.
But his supporters contend his term should be counted from when the current constitution, which contains the term-limit provision, came into effect in 2017. Another interpretation would start the clock in 2019, when he won the job legally after a general election.
The case — in which the court is deciding whether a coup leader has stayed in power too long — highlighted Thailand’s particular political culture: Often the soldiers who overthrow elected leaders then try to legitimize their rule and defuse opposition by holding elections and abiding by constitutional restrictions. (AP)