A Thai court has dismissed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for appointing a former lawyer, who had previously been jailed, to his cabinet.
The Constitutional Court determined that Mr. Srettha violated “rules on ethics” and exhibited “defiant behavior.”
Srettha, 67, who has been in office for less than a year, is the third prime minister in 16 years to be removed by this court.
An interim leader will assume his position until Thailand’s parliament convenes to elect a new prime minister.
“I’m confident in my honesty … I feel sorry, but I’m not saying I disagree with the ruling,” he said at a press conference shortly after the ruling.
The verdict introduces further political uncertainty for a country that has experienced multiple coups, the most recent in 2014 when the military seized power.
On Wednesday, the court voted five to four to remove Mr. Srettha from office. The court’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.
In May, the court accepted a petition from about 40 senators to remove the PM due to his appointment of Pichit Chuenban, who was previously sentenced to six months in jail for attempted bribery.
Mr. Srettha became prime minister despite his Pheu Thai party not being the biggest winner in last year’s election, which ended nine years of military rule in Thailand.
Voters gave a significant victory to the young, reformist Move Forward party, but it was blocked from forming the government by the military-appointed senate.
Pheu Thai then made a deal with other army-backed parties to form a ruling coalition, excluding Move Forward, and Mr. Srettha assumed leadership.
This ruling is the latest in a series of high-profile decisions by the court.
Last week, the court dissolved the Move Forward party for making unconstitutional campaign promises and banned party leaders, including 11 MPs, from politics for 10 years.