Thai PM Srettha is removed from office by a court order, in second major ruling

A court in Thailand on Wednesday removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office over an ethical violation further shaking up Thai politics after it ordered the dissolution of the main opposition party a week agoThe Constitutional Court ruled on a case involving Sretthas appointment of a Cabinet member who had been jailed in connection with an alleged attempt to bribe a court officialThe court voted 54 against Srettha and the ruling removed him from office immediatelyThe Cabinet will remain in place on a caretaker basis until Parliament approves a new prime minister A vote was scheduled by Parliament on Friday but it has no time limit for filling the position The caretaker Cabinet could also dissolve Parliament and call a new electionSrettha speaking at Government House shortly after the verdict thanked the judges for giving him the opportunity to defend himself He said he respected the ruling and that he always sought to act ethically during his time in office which was less than a yearIm sorry that Id be considered as a prime minister whos unethical but Id like to insist that I believe that is not who I am he saidThe acting prime minister is expected to be Phumtham Wechayachai of Sretthas Pheu Thai party Phumtham was first deputy prime minister and commerce minister under SretthaThe Constitutional Court last week ordered the dissolution of the progressive Move Forward Party which won last years general election over an accusation that it violated the Constitution by proposing an amendment to a law against defaming the countrys royal family The party has already regrouped as the Peoples PartyThe petition against Srettha was initiated by former members of the militaryinstalled Senate who had refused to approve Move Forwards prime ministerial candidate when the party was attempting to form a government after its election victory It was seen as a move favouring a promilitary political party in his coalition governmentThailands courts especially the Constitutional Court are considered a bulwark of the countrys royalist establishment which has used them and nominally independent state agencies such as the Election Commission to issue rulings to cripple or sink political opponentsThe Constitutional Courts rulings are two judicial coups that are against international standards and upset the usual checks and balances in a democratic system said Prajak Kongkirati a political scientist at Bangkoks Thammasat UniversityIt shows that Thailand currently is not a democracy and that the 2017 Constitution handed the judiciary and the independent organisations unbalanced power he said a reference to Thailands current Constitution that was sponsored by the military government that staged a coup in 2014Srettha became prime minister in August last year despite his Pheu Thai party finishing second in the general election After Move Forward was denied power by the Senate whose term ended in May Pheu Thai then the biggest coalition partner of Move Forward excluded it from the coalition and joined hands with parties affiliated the previous militarycontrolled government to gather enough support to approve a new prime ministerIn choosing a new prime minister Parliament can select from a roster of candidates nominated for the post last year by the major political parties The Pheu Thai party has two eligible candidates including Paetongtarn Shinawatra the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin ShinawatraAnother frontrunner would be Anutin Charnvirakul head of the Bhumjaithai party which ran third in last years general election He is currently a deputy prime minister and interior minister Anutin a powerbroker in the voterich northeast whose family owns a major construction group has served in both a militarybacked government and the civilian one that it replacedAlso in the running would be two former senior military officers Prayuth Chanocha who served as prime minister for nine years after staging a coup in 2014 and Prawit Wongsuwan who was one of Prayuths deputy prime ministersSrettha had appointed Pichit Chuenban as a minister of the Prime Ministers Office in a Cabinet reshuffle in April Pichit was jailed for six months in 2008 on contempt of court charges after he allegedly tried to bribe a judge with 2 million baht 55000 in cash in a grocery bag over a case involving Thaksin the former prime ministerPichit resigned from the post weeks after being appointed when controversy over the incident was revivedThe court said that although Pichit had already served his jail term his behaviour as ruled by the Supreme Court was dishonest Srettha as prime minister has sole responsibility for vetting the qualifications of his Cabinet nominations the court ruled It said he knew about Pichits past but still nominated him and therefore it ruled that he violated the ethics codes in the ConstitutionSrettha 62 was a real estate executive before entering politics He prioritized opening up Thailand after almost a decade of militarybacked rule frequently travelling abroad for trade negotiations His party pushed a populist plan for a 10000 baht 286 handout policy to stimulate the economy a key promise in its campaign last year though it has been delayed by technicalities largely involving fundingHis government also promoted Thai cultural products through a soft power agency and the critical tourism sector by loosening entry requirements and other measuresSrettha who tried to project an image of a strong CEO was seen by critics as an agent for Thaksin who returned from selfimposed exile in August last year in a plea deal his detractors say was essential to Srettha gaining the premiershipThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever