Thai court suspends PM Prayuth pending term limit review
24 Aug 2022 10:58pm
Thailand’s 2017 constitution limits the prime minister from serving more than eight years in total.
In a statement, the Constitutional Court said the judges voted 5:4 to suspend Prayuth from office, effective today, until the case is decided.
"The court considered the petition and supporting documents, sees reasonable grounds to accept the petition,” the statement said.
Prayuth has 15 days to respond to the court.
It was unclear when the court will deliver a final ruling on the petition.
The court will also decide on when Prayuth effectively came to power as prime minister.
Thailand’s 2017 constitution limits the prime minister from serving more than eight years in total.
A former junta chief, 68-year-old Prayuth came into power after he ousted the elected government in a military coup in May 2014. He was installed as prime minister under a provisional post-coup constitution in August the same year.
The opposition parties said Prayuth's time spent after he took power in the military coup should count towards the eight-year term and he had now reached the limit.
However, Prayuth’s supporters said his tenure started when the 2017 constitution was instituted while some even said that is should be after the 2019 general election.
If the court follows the 2017 constitution, Prayuth could technically continue to serve until 2025 or 2027 - if he wins a general election which will be held next year.
On Monday, the Constitutional Court received a petition signed by 171 opposition members of the House of Representatives seeking a ruling on whether Prayuth has reached the legal limit of eight years.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, 77, will likely become the interim prime minister.
Meanwhile, acting government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri said Prayuth respected the court’s decision and has stopped active duty, and added the suspension will have no impact on the government's works and administration.
Since the general election in 2019, Prayuth and his coalition government have survived four no-confidence votes, most recently last month. - Bernama
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