2024-08-14 14:52:00
The Constitutional Court of Thailand has found Prime Minister Setthu Thaweesin guilty of violating the code of ethics and removed him from office, the court’s ruling says.
As reported by Day.Az with reference to TASS, the meeting was broadcast by The Reporters TV channel.
Of the nine judges, five voted to dismiss the prime minister, finding him guilty of irregularities in the April 2024 appointment of Phichit Chung-ban as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office. “This is not the first time that the Phua Thai Party has encountered obstacles. But we will continue to work. We will not stop every time we fall. We will move forward,” Phua Thai said in a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Members of the House of Representatives (lower house of parliament) must now consider and approve the candidacy of the new prime minister from a list of candidates previously submitted by parties after the parliamentary elections in 2023. Representatives of the Phea Thai Party, its chairman Phetongthan Shinawatra and adviser to the prime minister Chaikasem Nitisiri, as well as the leaders of the Phumchaithai Party Anuthin Chanvirakun, Phalang Pracharat Party Prawit Wongsuwan and Ruam Thai San Chat Party Phiraphan Salirattviphak will be able to apply for the post of head of government.
Setthi Thaweesin’s candidacy was approved by the kingdom’s parliament on August 22, 2023. On May 23, the Constitutional Court accepted a petition from 40 senators demanding his resignation, and the court then refused to suspend Thaweesin from his duties as head of government while the case is being considered. In their petition, lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with the appointment of former lawyer Chungban, who was sentenced to six months in prison in June 2008 for attempting to bribe judges when he represented former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a corruption case. The Bar Council of Thailand then suspended his lawyer’s license for five years.
Explaining his decision, Thaweesin said he had consulted the State Council, the government’s legal arm, on Chung-bang’s appointment before submitting a list of updated cabinet members to the king for approval. Amid the controversy, Chung-bang resigned on May 21, saying “the prime minister can continue to govern the country.”
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