Thai Prime Minister Srettha is removed from office by a court order over an ethics violation

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office over an ethical violation Wednesday, further shaking up Thai politics after ordering the dissolution of the main opposition party a week ago.

The 5-4 ruling removed Srettha from office immediately over a case involving his appointment of a Cabinet member who had been jailed in connection with an alleged bribery attempt.

The Cabinet will remain in place on a caretaker basis until Parliament approves a new prime minister. It scheduled a vote Friday but has no time limit to fill the position. The caretaker Cabinet could also dissolve Parliament and call a new election.

Srettha said he respected the ruling and that he always sought to act ethically during his time in office, which was less than a year. “I’m sorry that I’d be considered as a prime minister who’s unethical, but I’d like to insist that I believe that is not who I am,” he said.

Phumtham Wechayachai of Srettha’s Pheu Thai party and first deputy prime minister and commerce minister under him is expected to become acting prime minister.

The Constitutional Court last week dissolved the progressive Move Forward Party, which won last year’s general election, saying it violated the Constitution by proposing an amendment to a law against defaming the country’s royal family. The party has already regrouped as the People’s Party.

The petition against Srettha was initiated by former members of the military-installed Senate who had refused to approve Move Forward’s prime ministerial candidate when the party was attempting to form a government after its election victory. It was seen as a move favoring a pro-military political party in his coalition government.

Thailand’s courts, especially the Constitutional Court, are considered a bulwark of the country’s royalist establishment, which has used them and nominally independent state agencies such as the Election Commission to cripple or sink political opponents.

The United Nations deputy spokesman reiterated a statement from the U.N. human rights’ office, which last week expressed regret over the Move Forward Party’s dissolution, calling it “a setback to pluralism and democracy in Thailand.” Farhan Haq said that in the court’s latest action dismissing the prime minister, “we would recommend that due process be followed.”

The Constitutional Court’s 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 Bangkok’s Thammasat University.

“It shows that Thailand currently is not a democracy and that the 2017 Constitution handed the judiciary and the independent organizations unbalanced power,” he said, a reference to Thailand’s current Constitution that was sponsored by the military government that took power in a coup in 2014.

Srettha became prime minister last August, 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 with the previous military-controlled government to approve a new prime minister.

In choosing a new prime minister, Parliament can select from 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 Shinawatra.

Another frontrunner would be Anutin Charnvirakul, head of the Bhumjaithai party, which came third in the election. Currently a deputy prime minister and interior minister, Anutin is a powerbroker in the vote-rich northeast whose family owns a major construction group. He has served in both a military-backed government and the civilian one that it replaced.

Two former senior military officers — Prayuth Chan-ocha, who served as prime minister for nine years after staging the 2014 coup, and Prawit Wongsuwan, one of Prayuth’s deputy prime ministers — would also be in the running.

Srettha had appointed Pichit Chuenban in a Cabinet reshuffle in April. Pichit, jailed for six months in 2008 on contempt of court charges after allegedly trying to bribe a judge with 2 million baht ($55,000) in a grocery bag over a case involving Thaksin, resigned from his post weeks later, when controversy over the incident was revived.

The court said that although Pichit had already served his jail term, his behavior — as ruled by the Supreme Court — was dishonest while Srettha, as prime minister, had sole responsibility for vetting his Cabinet nominations. It said Sretth knew about Pichit’s past but still nominated him, in violation of the ethics codes in the Constitution.

Srettha, 62, was a real estate executive before entering politics. He prioritized opening up Thailand after almost a decade of military-backed rule, frequently traveling abroad for trade negotiations. His party pushed a populist plan for a 10,000 baht ($286) handout policy to stimulate the economy. His government also promoted Thai cultural products through a “soft power” agency and the critical tourism sector by loosening entry requirements and other measures.

Srettha, who tried to project an image of a strong CEO, was seen by critics as an agent for Thaksin, who returned from self-imposed exile in August last year in a plea deal his detractors say was essential to Srettha gaining the premiership.

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Associated Press writers Napat Kongsawad in Bangkok and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.