The Constitutional Court of Thailand ruled on the 14th that Prime Minister Saitha Thakur violated the relevant provisions of the constitution when he nominated a person with a criminal record as a minister during the cabinet reshuffle, and he will be dismissed from his position as prime minister with immediate effect. Why was Seta fired? What’s next for Thailand to elect a new prime minister? What is the future of the political situation?
On August 14, in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, Saitha attended a press conference after the Constitutional Court ruling. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Laheng)
Why was Saitha dismissed?
The announcement by the Constitutional Court of Thailand showed that Phichit, the Prime Minister Minister nominated by Saitha in the cabinet reshuffle in April, was sentenced to 6 months in prison for contempt of court. Do not possess the qualifications required of cabinet ministers as stipulated in the Constitution. Saita violated the relevant provisions of the Constitution by nominating Phichit as minister in the Prime Minister's Office even though he knew he lacked relevant qualifications.
According to the Thai constitution, those holding ministerial positions "must be manifestly honest and upright" and their conduct must not violate ethical standards.
In May of this year, 40 caretaker members of the Thai House of Lords at the time jointly petitioned the Constitutional Court through the Speaker of the House of Lords to terminate the duties of Saitha and Phichit. Although Phichit resigned as minister in the Prime Minister's Office on May 21 "so that the prime minister can continue to govern the country," the Constitutional Court decided to accept the case on May 23.
Phichit was a lawyer for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. While representing Thaksin in a controversial land case, Phichit was sentenced to six months in prison for trying to bribe a judge. Although the prosecution dropped the charges after his release, the Thai Bar Association suspended Phichit from practicing law. license.
How to elect a new prime minister
After Setta is dismissed, Deputy Prime Minister Putan is expected to serve as caretaker prime minister. According to reports, Putan will convene a meeting between the ruling coalition and the caretaker government on the 15th.
On November 1, 2023, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Putan Wijayachai accepted a joint interview with Chinese and Thai media in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Teng
The House of Commons of Thailand announced that it will hold a special meeting on the 16th to vote for a new prime minister.
According to Thai media reports, the prime ministerial candidates recommended by various parties in last year's general election are eligible to run. Candidates currently include Beitong Than, leader of the ruling party Pheu Thai Party, and Chai Kason, a member of the Pheu Thai Party; Anutin, leader of the Pheu Thai Party, deputy prime minister and minister of the interior; Prayut Chan-o-cha, the former prime minister from the Thai Unity Party and the energy minister Pilaphan; former Deputy Prime Minister Prawit.
Among them, the 37-year-old Bei Dongdan is Thaksin's daughter and is regarded as a potential candidate to inherit the Shinawatra family's political assets. After the Thai Rak Thai Party founded by Thaksin was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2007, the Thai Rak Thai Party was generally considered to be the successor party to the Thai Rak Thai Party. In addition, on the evening of the 14th, there was news that the ruling coalition intends to nominate Chaiyang Sen, who is over 70 years old, as a candidate for prime minister.
How is the political situation in Thailand?
This is the second major ruling made by the Constitutional Court of Thailand after a week. The Constitutional Court ruled on the 7th that the Far Progress Party, the largest party in the House of Commons, was unconstitutional in its promise to amend Article 112 of the Criminal Code (i.e., lèse-majesté) during last year’s election, and announced the dissolution of the Far Progress Party. All executive members of the party will be Not allowed to engage in politics during the year.
On August 7, in Bangkok, Thailand, the former leader of the Far Progress Party, Phita Limcharounlal (middle), arrived at the headquarters of the Far Progress Party after the Constitutional Court of Thailand ruled to dissolve the Far Progress Party. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Laheng)
Analysts believe that Saita’s dismissal has dealt a certain blow to the Pheu Thai party’s leadership position in forming the government, but the ruling alliance is expected to continue to cooperate in forming the government. Currently, there are 493 seats in Thailand’s House of Commons, of which the ruling coalition that formed the current government still holds 314 seats. However, public opinion generally believes that the 40 senators who petitioned the Constitutional Court to rule Seta as unconstitutional are closely related to former Deputy Prime Minister Prawit. It remains to be seen whether his party will remain in the new government.
At present, it is still unknown whether the negotiations between the political parties in the ruling coalition will go smoothly and whether the new prime minister can be successfully selected.In any case, analysts here believe that frequent changes of power may affect the continued advancement of Thailand's economic and social policies, such as major infrastructure projects promoted by Settar. At the same time, changes in the political situation will cause fluctuations in the Thai securities market, causing foreign investors to maintain a wait-and-see attitude.
(Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Bo, Chen Jiabao, Chen Qianci)
(Source: Xinhuanet)
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