Group pushes Srettha’s ouster over Pichit saga
PUBLISHED : 30 Jul 2024 at 04:43
A group of 40 former senators who petitioned the Constitutional Court to dismiss Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin over his decision to appoint ex-convict Pichit Chuenban as a cabinet minister in the last reshuffle said they will submit their closing statement to the court by the end of the month.
One of the former senators, Somchai Swangkarn, said on Monday the group is drawing up a written closing statement for submission to the Constitutional Court, which it plans to forward through the Senate speaker.
He said the statement will call on the court to hold the prime minister accountable for his decision to appoint an ineligible person to become a cabinet minister.
Mr Somchai said that even though Mr Srettha claimed to have asked the Council of State’s opinion on the matter, the request submitted by the cabinet secretariat showed otherwise.
The request showed the cabinet secretariat did not ask the council for its opinion regarding the requirements for a cabinet minister candidate under Section 160 (4) and (5) of the constitution, he said.
Section 160 (4) and (5) require that those who will become cabinet ministers to uphold moral integrity and prohibit them from violating ethical standards for political-office holders.
Somchai: ‘Wrong questions asked’
Instead, Mr Somchai said, the council was asked to weigh in on requirements which are irrelevant to the case, referring to Section 160 (6) and (7) of the constitution.
Section 160 (6) outlines the requirements for candidates running in an election, while Section 160 (7) prohibits a convict from holding a cabinet post.
“By asking [if Pichit] meets the requirement under Section 160 [6] and [7], the cabinet secretariat tried to create the narrative that Pichit was eligible to assume the post,” he said.
“Had the cabinet secretariat asked the council if Pichit meets the requirement under Section 160 [4] and [5], the answer would have been different.”
The former senators lodged the petition to dismiss Mr Srettha as PM in May, saying Pichit was unfit to assume a cabinet post because he had served jail time for contempt of court in 2008, for attempting to bribe Supreme Court officials in a controversial land case involving former PM Thaksin Shinawatra.
Pichit resigned from the PM’s Office Minister post just before the court accepted the petition, which was seen by observers as a bid to spare Mr Srettha from a legal wrangle.
The court agreed to hear the case against Mr Srettha, but rejected the case against Pichit because he had already stepped down.
The Constitutional Court is scheduled to deliver its ruling on the case against Mr Srettha on Aug 14.
A source in cabinet earlier said Pichit’s imprisonment in the 2008 contempt of court case did not render him ineligible to be appointed as a cabinet minister, because he was appointed a minister 10 years after finishing his jail term, as required by the election law.
However, the question of whether Pichit meets the moral and ethical standards as required by the constitution is a different matter, the source said.
On Monday, former senator Wanchai Sornsiri also noted Pichit was only convicted of contempt of court, not attempted bribery, which would have barred him from assuming the post.