The Thai Constitutional Court has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty over the leaked call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen.

The Constitutional Court on Tuesday (1 July) unanimously accepted the petition filed by 36 senators against the PM and then voted 7 to 2 to suspend PM Paetongtarn from her prime ministerial duties. The PM has 15 days to submit her explanation and evidence. During this time, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will be the Acting Prime Minister.

The Court deliberated on the case in just a few hours after the King approved the appointment of new Cabinet members, in which Paetongtarn also took the post of Culture Minister.

In her response to the Court's deliberation, Paetongtarn asserted that the phone call was made to serve the country and protect Thailand's sovereignty, expressing an apology to the Thai people who were displeased with her remarks during the call. She also affirmed that she remained determined to serve the country regardless of her position.

The complaint calling for her dismissal was filed on 19 June by the Senate Standing Committee on Armed Forces and State Security led by Pol Gen Sawat Thatsana. The Committee also filed a petition with the National Anti-Corruption Commission on the same day.

Sawat said according to the leaked call, Paetongtarn made concessions to Hun Sen and also disgraced the army by saying that the Commander of the 2^nd Army Region was an opponent of the government.

The petition requested the Court to investigate whether Paetongtarn committed a breach of ethics under Sections 160 and 170 of the Constitution. Her predecessor Srettha Thavisin was dismissed under the same charges.

The Senators also requested the Court to suspend the PM from duty during the deliberations.

The recording between Paetongtarn and Cambodia’s Senate President Hun Sen, was leaked on 18 June and promptly went viral on social media in both Cambodia and Thailand. Both sides later admitted that the audio was authentic.

The conversation discussed ways to ease tensions at the border. However, the Thai PM mentioned the domestic pressure she was facing from the military, saying the 2nd Army Region was the opponent of the government. She said she did not want Hun Sen to listen to them.

The leaked phone call put Paetongtarn under fire as netizens began calling her a traitor and showing their support for the military. In addition, several parties have called on her to either resign or dissolve the House of Representatives.

The Paetongtarn administration was hit by another blow when the Bhumjaithai Party, which has 69 MPs, announced on 18 June that it was withdrawing from the government coalition, leaving the government a razor-thin majority in parliament.

Apart from the legal challenge from the senators, Paetongtarn also faces three other legal complaints  over the leaked call, all of which aim at removing her from office. Meanwhile. Thaksin Shinawatra's royal defamation case is ongoing in the Criminal Court.

The Bhumjaithai Party also pushed for a no-confidence debate against the Paetongtarn administration. The Party on Tuesday began gathering support from 99 MPs in order to file a motion during the upcoming parliamentary session set for 3 July.