The Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been removed from office by the Constitutional Court over the leaked call with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen. The new PM will be elected from the remaining candidates, with the Senate no longer allowed to vote.

On Friday (29 August)  the Thai Constitutional Court ruled by a 6-3 majority to disqualify PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra over the leaked conversation with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen. The rest of the cabinet were also automatically dismissed. The Court’s ruling also took effect from 1 July, the day she was suspended her prime ministerial duties.

Four judges of the majority found that Paetongtarn lacked the qualifications and possessed prohibited characteristics under the Constitution.

However, the Court did not rule to ban her from taking any future political position.

The new PM will be chosen from the remaining candidates nominated before the last election: Chaikasem Nitisiri from Pheu Thai, Anutin Charnvirakul from Bhumjaithai, Prayut Chan-o-cha from the United Thai Nation, Pirapan Salirathavibhaga from the United Thai Nation, and Jurin Laksanawisit from the Democrat.

However, the Senate will no longer be allowed to vote for the new PM.

During a press briefing, Paetongtarn acknowledged the Court’s ruling to remove her from office, adding that today's verdict will cause another abrupt change in Thai politics.

She thanked the Thai people who gave her the opportunity to serve the country for one year, insisting that she sincerely worked for the country and saved lives, whether they were soldiers or civilians.

The complaint calling for Paetongtarn’s dismissal was filed on 19 June by the Senate Standing Committee on Armed Forces and State Security led by Pol Gen Sawat Thatsana.

The petition requested the Court to investigate whether Paetongtarn committed a breach of ethics under Sections 160 and 170 of the Constitution.

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 commander of the 2nd Army Region was the opponent of the government. She said she did not want Hun Sen to listen to them.

Paetongtarn, the youngest daughter of the former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, had never held any political position. As the only one candidate nominated, she was elected to be Thailand’s 31st PM on 16 August 2024 after the Constitutional Court ousted her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin for appointing to a cabinet position a person with a prior criminal conviction.

She became Thailand’s second female prime minister and the fourth member of the Shinawatra family to hold the top job after her father Thaksin Shinawatra, her uncle-in-law Somchai Wongsawat, and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra, who was the first female PM in Thai history.

Since the 2023 general election, Thailand’s prime ministerial position has changed twice, both times due to Constitutional Court rulings to remove the incumbents from office. Both Paetongtarn and her predecessor faced the same charge, which related to their ethical standards as PM.

Both Court verdicts have proved explicitly that the Court is the ultimate arbiter of Thai politics. Over the past two decades, the Court has ruled on cases that led to several political turning points for the government, political parties, even for the democratic form of government itself.