THAILAND'S COURT CLEARED THE WAY FOR PRIME MINISTER PRAYUTH TO BE REINSTATED

  • 30/09/2022

On September 30, 2022, Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had not exceeded the maximum eight-year term limit, clearing the way for his return from a five-week suspension.

The decision will be a significant boost for Prayuth, a staunch royalist whose premiership has been plagued by attempts to destabilise him, including four house censure motions, a conflict of interest case, and protests challenging his leadership and the monarchy.

 "The accused... has been in the prime minister position not exceeding the limit stipulated by the constitution," a judge said in a 25-minute televised reading of the verdict.

"Therefore he is not disqualified."

Mr. Prayuth ruled as the head of a military council after overthrowing an elected government in 2014 as army chief.

He served as junta leader and prime minister until an election in 2019 under a military-drafted constitution that established an eight-year term limit for prime ministers, after which a new parliament chose him to continue as premier.

In ruling on a case brought by the opposition Pheu Thai party, the court stated that a majority of judges concluded Prayuth's tenure began in 2017, implying that if re-elected, he could serve until 2025.

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