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Political uncertainty in Thailand with PM’s suspension

Published:Thursday | August 25, 2022 | 11:55 AM
Acting Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan attends a meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, August 25, 2022. Thailand's government held its first official meetings Thursday under an acting prime minister after the suspension of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was ordered by a court while it considered if he had violated the post's term limits. (Thailand Government Spokesman's Office via AP)

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand entered a phase of political uncertainty on Thursday, with its prime minister suspended and his deputy taking over in his stead pending a ruling from a top court on whether the premier has reached his constitutional term limit.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha came to power in a military coup in 2014, and would have hit the 8-year term limit earlier this week if the clock started when he seized power.

The Constitutional Court suspended Prayuth, the army's commander at the time of the coup, on Wednesday as it considers arguments in his case.

His supporters argue that his term as prime minister should be calculated from when he won the job legally after a general election in 2019, or, if nothing else, from when the term-limit provision became part of the current constitution in 2017.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan has assumed the role of acting prime minister, taking over Prayuth's duties.

Prawit, 77, is closely associated with the military clique behind the 2014 coup, and is expected to toe the same line as Prayuth.

On Thursday, Prawit chaired a meeting of a committee on communications during national disasters that he was previously scheduled to attend.

Prayuth, who has kept his other Cabinet position as defence minister, attended a monthly meeting of the government's Defence Council in that capacity, participating via video.

No date has been set for the court's ruling, but Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political science professor at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said there is a good possibility they will decide in favour of keeping Prayuth as prime minister even though public sentiment is seen to favour the “literal interpretation” of his eight years in office.

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