Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Friday removed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and her cabinet from office over her handling of a border dispute with Cambodia, plunging the country into political turmoil.
Paetongtarn, daughter of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, was suspended from duty on 1 July after a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen triggered accusations of weakness.
The nine-judge panel voted six to three against her, ruling that she had failed to uphold the ethical standards required of a prime minister. “Her actions led to a loss of trust, prioritised personal interests over national interests, and fuelled public suspicion that she was siding with Cambodia,” one judge read from the ruling.
The court dissolved her cabinet as well, leaving no clear candidate to lead Thailand’s fragile coalition. The judgment came just a year after the same court ousted her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, in another ethics case.
The controversy centred on her call with Hun Sen in June, during which Paetongtarn addressed him as “uncle” and referred to a Thai military commander as her “opponent.” The remarks provoked outrage in a country where the military wields significant influence. Conservative lawmakers accused her of undermining the armed forces, while her coalition partners briefly abandoned her.
Senators petitioned the court to remove her for violating constitutional provisions that require “evident integrity” and “ethical standards.”
Speaking after the ruling, the 39-year-old insisted: “My intentions were for the benefit of the country, not personal gain, but for the lives of the people, including civilians and soldiers.”
Thailand now faces deep political uncertainty. Under the constitution, only candidates nominated in the 2023 general election are eligible to become prime minister, but most face political or legal obstacles. Whether acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has the authority to call fresh elections remains unclear.
The Shinawatra family has dominated Thai politics for two decades, locked in a struggle with the conservative, pro-military and royalist establishment. Paetongtarn is the sixth prime minister from her father’s movement to be forced from office by the Constitutional Court. Only Thaksin himself escaped dismissal.
The leaked call not only destabilised her government but also inflamed Thai-Cambodian relations, leading to the deadliest border clashes in decades in July, which killed more than 40 people and displaced 300,000.