BANGKOK: Thailand’s Constitutional Court will decide on Friday (Aug 29) whether to throw suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra out of office over her handling of the country’s border row with Cambodia.
Paetongtarn, daughter of controversial billionaire ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, was suspended from office last month after being accused of failing to stand up for Thailand in a June call with powerful former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, the audio of which was leaked online.
If the court sacks Paetongtarn, as it did her predecessor as prime minister a year ago, Thailand will face a political crisis, with no obvious candidate on hand to lead the fragile ruling coalition in parliament.
The nine judges will begin deliberations around 9.30am (10.30am Singapore time) with a ruling expected from 3pm.
The proceedings come a week after a criminal court cleared Thaksin, 76, of royal insult charges in a case that could have seen him jailed for up to 15 years.
Paetongtarn’s case centres on her call with Hun Sen, Cambodia’s longtime ruler and father of its current premier, during which the pair discussed their respective countries’ then-brewing row over their disputed border.
Paetongtarn addressed Hun Sen as “uncle” and referred to a Thai military commander as her “opponent”, sparking a furious reaction in Thailand, where the armed forces hold huge sway.
Conservative lawmakers accused her of bending the knee to Cambodia and undermining the military, while Paetongtarn’s main coalition partner walked out in protest, almost collapsing her government.
She clung on to power but a group of senators turned to the Constitutional Court, arguing she should be removed from office for breaching constitutional provisions requiring “evident integrity” and “ethical standards” from ministers. The court suspended her on Jul 1.
The 39-year-old leader and her Pheu Thai party say she did her best to act in her country’s interests, and last week she answered judges’ questions in the case.
As well as causing a domestic furore, the phone call – released in full online by Hun Sen, to the Thai government’s fury – plunged relations between the neighbours into turmoil.
In July, the tensions spiralled into the two sides’ deadliest military clashes in decades, with more than 40 people killed and 300,000 forced to flee their homes along the border.
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