MK Fires Thai Prime Minister For Appointing Prisoners To Become Ministers

Thai Prime Minister Sretta Thavisin/PHOTO via Instagram @sretthavisin

JAKARTA - The Thai Constitutional Court dismissed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for violating ethics by appointing a minister who is serving a prison sentence or a prisoner.

Real estate tycoon Sretta became Thailand's fourth prime minister in 16 years to be dismissed under the same court ruling, after the court judge ruled the sacking of Thai PM for failing to carry out his duties with integrity.

Sretta's dismissal after less than a year in power means parliament must convene to elect a new prime minister, with the prospect of greater uncertainty in the country that for two decades has been plagued by a coup and a court decision that has brought down many governments and political parties.

"The court has decided 5-4 that the defendant was dismissed as prime minister due to a lack of honesty," the judge said, stressing his behavior was "deeply violating ethical standards" reported by Reuters, Wednesday, August 14.

The decision underscores the important role Thailand's judiciary played in politics, with the same court last week disbanding the anti-establishment Move Forward Party after deciding its campaign to reform a law banning insults to a kingdom at risk of damaging the constitutional monarchy.

Move Forward voters reunited on Friday under the new party.

This decision was also taken at a difficult time for the economy that is difficult to turn on by Sretta, with weak consumer exports and spending, high household debt, and more than a million small businesses unable to access loans.

The government estimates growth to be only 2.7 percent by 2024, lagging behind other countries in the region, while Thailand is the market with the worst performance in Asia this year with its main stock index, down about 17 percent.

The Srettha-led Pheu Thai party and its predecessors have borne the heaviest burden of chaos in Thailand, with its two governments ousted through a coup in a longstanding revenge dispute between the founders of the party, billionaire Shinawatra's family, and their rivals from conservative and military royalists.