BANGKOK: Thai media reported on Wednesday (Aug 24) that the constitutional court has suspended Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha from official duty pending the result of a legal review of his term limit.
ThaiPBS, Khaosod and Workpoint media reported the court’s decision without citing sources. Reuters could not independently verify the information.
The constitutional court is expected to make an official announcement shortly.
Thailand’s 2017 constitution bars the prime minister from serving more than eight years in total, and opposition parties say Prayut, who took power in a 2014 coup, has reached the limit.
But supporters say he has been the prime minister from 2017 – when the current army-drafted constitution was implemented – or in 2019, when he controversially won much-delayed national polls.
Prayut has clung on to office through major anti-government protests in 2020, a bruising pandemic, a faltering economy and scores of political near-misses – but now the very constitution whose design he oversaw is being used against him.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, 77, a former army chief and longtime political kingmaker will likely become the interim prime minister, according to the Cabinet line of succession.