Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Phumtham Wechayachai is most likely to serve as acting Prime Minister until a new Prime Minister emerges. Your guess is as good as mine how long that will take or what role, if any, Thaksin might play.
Phumtham Wechayachai
Many expect Anutin, who is known to be highly in favor of keeping marijuana legal, to emerge as Thailand's next Prime Minister, although that is by no means guaranteed at this point.
Anutin Charnvirakul
Read on to find out how Thailand's next Prime Minister will become Thailand's next Prime Minister.
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Srettha dismissed as PM after court ruling
Court says appointment of convicted ex-lawyer was an ethics breach, entire cabinet must also step down
August 14, 2024
The Constitutional Court has found Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin guilty of a gross violation of ethics for appointing ex-convict Pichit Chuenban as a cabinet minister. The ruling resulted in Mr Srettha being dismissed after less than a year in office.
The ruling on Wednesday also terminates all positions in the cabinet, but ministers will stay on in a caretaker capacity. Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will serve as acting prime minister until a new premier can be selected by the House of Representatives.
Mr Srettha told reporters at Government House that he respected the court’s decision, even though it was not what he had hoped for.
“I don’t have any authority left,” he said. “The authority is now with the caretaker prime minister.”
If Mr Phumtham is unable to assume the caretaker role, Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit would take over, said Mr Srettha.
The future administration will determine key government policies, including the 10,000-baht digital wallet scheme, the Land Bridge initiative and soft power projects, according to the property tycoon turned politician.
Mr Srettha said he would still like to contribute to the nation in other roles.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand index sank 17 points as the ruling was being read, but recovered to finish the day at 1,292.65, down 5.10 points from Tuesday.
The nine judges ruled 5-4 to dismiss Mr Srettha from office. The prime minister did not attend the hearing but sent his secretary-general Prommin Lertsuridej. Former senators Direkrit Jenkrongtham, Somchai Sawaengkarn and Prapan Koonmee represented the group of 40 former Upper House members who filed the original complaint against Mr Srettha.
The senators had asked the court if Mr Srettha should be removed from office under Section 170 (4) and (5) of the charter, which deals with the ethics of cabinet ministers.
Bribery conviction
Pichit was sentenced to six months in prison in 2008, and served time, along with two colleagues after they tried to bribe Supreme Court officials by handing them a paper bag containing 2 million baht inside a lunch box. He was deemed unfit by critics to serve as a cabinet minister.
All three were representing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his ex-wife Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra in the Ratchadaphisek land purchase case, for which Thaksin was sentenced to two years in prison in 2008.
Thaksin was charged with abusing his authority while prime minister to facilitate Khunying Potjaman’s purchase of 33 rai of land in the Ratchadaphisek area from the Bank of Thailand’s Financial Institutions Development Fund at a discounted price of 772 million baht in 2003.
Pichit resigned last year as a PM’s Office minister after serving just four days, which was seen as a bid to spare Mr Srettha from legal trouble. The court dropped the case against Pichit but decided to go ahead with the case against the prime minister.
What happens next?
Parties must now decide who they will nominate and vote for as the next premier based on the list of candidates that was submitted prior to the May 2023 poll.
It is expected not all candidates would be put forward, with horse-trading likely to take place between parties in return for cabinet positions.
The Speaker will convene parliament for the House of Representatives to vote for the next premier. Unlike last year, the Senate will not have a vote on the issue. There are no rules specifying how long the process might take.
To become prime minister, a candidate needs the backing of more than half of the current 493 lawmakers, or 247 votes. If they fall short, the House must meet again later and repeat the voting process, with a chance for other candidates to be nominated.
The 11-party coalition government has 314 seats in the House.
The main candidates for the premier’s position, based on the lists submitted by the parties last year, include Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37. But her father Thaksin, still considered to have the final say on party matters, has expressed reservations about her moving into a high-pressure position too soon.
Chaikasem Nitisiri, a former justice minister and Pheu Thai stalwart, was the party’s other candidate but age and health appear to rule him out.
Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, head of the Bhumjaithai Party, the second-largest in the coalition, is seen by many as the compromise candidate who will emerge on top.
Other possible contenders include Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, leader of the conservative Thai Raksa Chart party; and Gen Prawit Wongsuwon, head of the military-aligned Palang Pracharath Party.
Gen Prawit was involved in the last two coups against Shinawatra-led governments.
In his defence, Mr Srettha said that as a businessman, he was not familiar with all of the rules governing ministerial appointments. However, the court said that was no excuse as the Pichit case was well-known.
The judges said Mr Srettha was aware that Pichit had a dubious past. They noted that on Aug 29 last year, he held an urgent meeting to consider Pichit’s qualifications, and this showed that he was aware there may have been a problem.
Mr Srettha, a real estate billionaire, was one of three candidates put forward by the Pheu Thai Party during the general election campaign last year. He was chosen as the 30th prime minister of Thailand in a joint sitting of the House and Senate on Aug 22 last year, with 482 votes for, 165 votes against and 81 abstentions.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/po ... urt-ruling
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PM Srettha shown the door as Constitutional Court rules against him
by THE NATION
August 14, 2024
Verdict says PM lacked integrity to hold the top post because of his decision to appoint an unqualified person in his Cabinet
The Constitutional Court on Wednesday unseated Srettha Thavisin from the post of prime minister, stating in its verdict that he lacked integrity to hold the top government post because of his decision to appoint an unqualified person as one of his Cabinet members.
The nine Constitutional Court judges voted 5:4 to remove Srettha from office immediately and his Cabinet became a caretaker one pending the appointment of a new prime minister.
In their verdict, the judges said Srettha clearly showed lack of integrity when he decided to appoint Pichit Cheunban as a PM’s Office minister in his Cabinet reshuffle on April 27 this year, despite knowing that the appointee was disqualified for the post as he was dishonest and had been jailed in 2008 for allegedly attempting to bribe Supreme Court officials.
The court took up a petition by a group of 40 outgoing senators who accused Srettha of breaching the ethical standards for political office holders by appointing Pichit as a Cabinet member despite his questionable background.
The former senators did not attend the verdict reading and Srettha sent PM’s secretary-general Prommin Lertusuridej to hear the verdict on his behalf.
In the verdict, the court said that the 40 former senators had the authority to seek the court ruling and the court also had authority to interpret the facts and legal technicalities as to whether political office holders lacked integrity or violated ethical standards.
The court noted that the Constitution has formulated mechanisms to check and prevent persons without ethical standards and good governance from running the country’s administration.
The verdict said Cabinet members are required by the charter to have higher ethical standards and qualifications than MPs.
The court said they found it unreasonable for Srettha to claim that he was a businessman and had limited knowledge and experience in law and politics to realise that Pichit was not qualified for a Cabinet post.
The verdict said as the government leader, Srettha should have used his common sense and as a sane person realised that Pichit clearly lacked integrity to become a Cabinet member because he and two accomplices were once jailed for six months for trying to bribe court officials.
The verdict said the clerk of Pichit, who was then defending former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a corruption case, gave a bag with 2 million baht inside to a Supreme Court official. The verdict said the clerk definitely knew the money was inside and Pichit definitely knew about the act of his clerk.
The verdict said the bribery attempt was well known to members of the public and that Pichit had insulted the court and judge and his act showed a lack of respect for the court’s power, affecting the confidence in the Thai judiciary system.
The verdict said Srettha “knew all of the facts but still appointed the second defendant as the PM’s Office minister in the Royal Command while appointing ministers dated April 27, 2024. The first defendant [Srettha] is, as a result, ruled to clearly lack integrity and thus, lacking qualifications to become the prime minister in accordance with Article 160 (4) of the Constitution.”
The verdict also mentioned that Srettha once visited “the person the second defendant used to defend in a court”, in an apparent reference to Thaksin, and then changed his mind to appoint Pichit to the Cabinet.
The verdict said this fact showed that Srettha allowed personal and vested interest to have priority over national interest and it was also a conflict of interest.
The court said the act also showed that Srettha had allowed his post and power as the prime minister to be compromised for vested interests, so he clearly lacked integrity to remain as the prime minister.
“The majority judges (5 to 4) interpreted that the premiership of the first defendant was terminated in accordance with Article 170 (4) of the charter for lacking clear integrity, and lacking qualifications as stated in Article 160 (4). And he behaved in a way that severely violated the ethical standards, which violated Article 160 (5) of the Constitution,” the verdict said.
The ruling is expected to bring changes to the political landscape, as the new prime minister will have to be elected in the House, and there could be a realignment of the coalition, according to observers.
https://www.nationthailand.com/news/politics/40040572
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Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin Removed From Office by Constitutional Court
By Aim Tanakorn
14 August, 2024
In a groundbreaking development, the Thai Prime Minister, Mr. Srettha Thavisin, has been removed from his prime ministerial post by the Thai Constitutional Court on Wednesday, August 14th, 2024.
The court ruled 5-4 today that Mr. Srettha has breached the constitution by appointing Mr. Pichit Chuenban as Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office. The verdict was delivered against the real estate tycoon, despite Mr. Pichit’s resignation from the position in May 2024.
According to reports, the court deemed that Mr. Srettha failed to act in accordance with the principles of integrity and honesty required for the office as he was “well aware that Mr. Pichit seriously lacked moral integrity.”
Mr. Pichit had previously been convicted over an alleged attempt to bribe a Supreme Court’s clerk in 2008. He was sentenced to six months in prison and subsequently removed from his government position.
In his rebuttal, Mr. Srettha argued that he lacked knowledge about the rules for ministerial appointments. Nonetheless, the court rejected this defense, emphasizing that Mr. Pichit’s case was well-known, and he, as the prime minister, has the responsibility of vetting for ministerial candidates. Consequently, Mr. Srettha was removed from office, despite having served as Prime Minister for less than a year.
With Mr. Srettha’s removal, his entire cabinet will expectedly be dissolved soon. This verdict will also trigger a major political reshuffle within Thailand and opens the door for the appointment of a new prime minister. Two of the main potential candidates at the time of publishing include Paetongtarn Shinawatra, leader of the main government party Pheu Thai, and Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the second-largest government party, Bhumjaithai.
Mr. Srettha revealed after the verdict that he respected the ruling and that he now has no authority left but has no issues with anyone.
In the meantime, Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Phumtham Wechayachai will expectedly serve as acting prime minister until a new PM is selected by the House of Representatives in the near future, without a specific date announced.
https://thepattayanews.com/2024/08/14/t ... nal-court/
