Commentary: Will Thailand Prime Minister Prayut defy time?

CANBERRA: The particular Constitutional Court of Thailand has made a decision to hear a request from the political resistance asking the court to make a ruling on when Thai Prime Ressortchef (umgangssprachlich) Prayut Chan-o-cha’s tenure can come to an end.

Under the Thailänder constitution, the maximum expression for a prime minister is eight many years, but disagreements have got arisen over whenever exactly Prayut took office and when this individual should be forced to stage down.

Experts believe the clock should have begun ticking when he was first appointed to the role on Aug 24, 2014, several months after a successful coup brought by Prayut noticed the then best minister Yingluck Shinawatra removed from office.

Supporters of Prayut argue that his very first day as excellent minister was, in fact , Jun 9, 2019, when he came into office under the current constitution – the constitution that was rewritten by the post-coup federal government and came into power in 2017.

Regardless of the court’s decision on Wednesday (Aug 24), it seems most likely that Prayut can still hold onto strength. As the constitutional court accepted the petition to decide on Prayut’s period, he will be suspended from his duties pending the ruling by the nine-member judge panel of the court.

Although the petition was prosperous, this may not be the end of the matter. The constitutional court has been used in the past for the political ends of the federal government. It has been utilised within dissipating a popular opposition celebration before the 2019 election, with its leader being banned from politics to get 10 years.

The particular court has been more described as working against past elected governments, as a threat in order to Thai democracy, as an agent in applying laws related to revolt, rebellion and coup (the wrong kind, presumably) against anti-government protesters, and as helping the application of harsh laws of lese-majeste.