Judgment day for Srettha as court rules on dismissal case

BANGKOK — Thailand's Constitutional Court will on Wednesday (Aug 14) decide the fate of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, in a ruling that could see him dismissed after less than a year in office and plunge the country into deeper political uncertainty.

Srettha, a real estate tycoon with no background in politics, is the subject of a complaint from ex-senators appointed by the former military government, who say he violated the constitution when he gave a cabinet post to a former lawyer who was once jailed.

If Srettha is removed, the 500-seat parliament must convene to choose a new premier, with the prospect of more upheaval in a country dogged for two decades by coups and court rulings that have brought down multiple governments and political parties.

The same court last week dissolved the anti-establishment Move Forward Party, the hugely popular opposition, ruling its campaign to reform a law against insulting the crown risked undermining the constitutional monarchy. It regrouped on Friday under a new party.

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Srettha's Pheu Thai Party and its predecessors have borne the brunt of Thailand's turmoil, with two of its governments removed by coups in a long-running grudge match between the party's founders, the billionaire Shinawatra family, and its rivals in the conservative establishment and royalist military.

Srettha denies wrongdoing in appointing to cabinet former Shinawatra lawyer Pichit Chuenban, who was briefly imprisoned for contempt of court in 2008 over an alleged attempt to bribe court staff, which was never proven.

"We've done our best and have submitted closing statements. I've set up plans based on the people's needs and the care-taking PM can consider them," Srettha said on the eve of the