By By Micheal Chukwuebuka
THAILAND was plunged into fresh political turmoil on Friday after the Constitutional Court dismissed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and her cabinet over her handling of a sensitive border dispute with Cambodia.
Paetongtarn, the daughter of billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, had been suspended from office last month following allegations that she failed to defend Thailand’s position during a June telephone conversation with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, which was later leaked online.
In its ruling, the nine-member judicial panel declared that she had not upheld the ethical standards required of a prime minister.
The court ordered her immediate removal, a move that has left the fragile ruling coalition in parliament without a clear successor to lead the government.
“Her actions led to a loss of trust, prioritising personal interests over national interests, fuelling public suspicion that she was siding with Cambodia and eroding confidence in her leadership among Thai citizens,” one of the judges said in delivering the verdict.
The decision also dissolved Paetongtarn’s cabinet, marking the second time in a year the court has unseated a Thai prime minister, after her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, was removed in a separate ethics case.
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