Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended the country’s prime minister on Wednesday. This is reported by international news agencies. The Thai opposition believes Prayuth Chan-ocha (68) has been in power for too long, a claim that the court will now investigate. Prayuth was installed as Prime Minister of Thailand exactly eight years ago after a military coup. According to the constitution, a Thai prime minister cannot stay in office for more than eight years; that limit has now been exceeded according to opponents.
The length of Prayuth’s Prime Ministership is a legally complex issue. According to his supporters, the count should only start in 2017. Then Thailand introduced a new constitution that also includes the term of office of eight years. Another possibility is that the Constitutional Court — normally favorable to Prayuth — determines that the census should not start until 2019. In that year Prayuth was re-elected by the Thai parliament in a quasi-democratic process.
Prayuth’s re-election in 2019 was much to do. After his appointment as head of state in 2014, he organized the system in such a way that the chance of losing power became virtually nil. With success: in 2019 the Thai parliament voted in favor of his appointment with a large majority (500 in favour, 244 against). Critics argue that Prayuth and his military base used the ostensibly democratic process merely to legitimize their rule.
If it is up to the majority of the Thai population, Prayuth is really leaving now: two-thirds of the people want him to leave this month, according to a recent poll. His office in the capital Bangkok is heavily secured. For the umpteenth time, protesters demanded Prayuth’s departure on Wednesday. For exactly that reason, tens of thousands of (mainly young) Thais took to the streets two years ago. That led to many arrests and some violence.
Also read: Back to democracy? There was little to choose from for the poor Thai in 2019
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