Thailand’s prime minister has been put on leave. What happens next?

• Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has temporarily relinquished his position as leader but continues to serve as the nation’s defence minister.
• The court acknowledged a plea earlier this week from 172 opposition MPs asserting that Prayut’s authority began in 2014 when he seized power in the coup.
• Prayut’s administration issued a statement stating that he respects the court’s ruling.

According to a government spokeswoman, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has temporarily relinquished his position as leader but continues to serve as the nation’s defence minister.

The extraordinary leadership change comes in response to a decision made by Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday, which ordered Prayut to step aside while it examines whether he violated the recently enacted eight-year term limit.

Following a military takeover in 2014, Prayut assumed the position of prime minister before winning a contentious general election in 2019.

In the interim, he directed a revision of the kingdom’s constitution that forbade the prime minister from holding office for longer than eight years. Now, though, the focus is on whether Prayut has exceeded his own boundary.

The court acknowledged a plea earlier this week from 172 opposition MPs asserting that Prayut’s authority began in 2014 when he seized power in the coup. The court will probably take into account whether his term began formally in 2017 when the constitution was amended, or perhaps 2019, following the election.

On Wednesday, five of the nine judges on the constitutional court concurred that Prayut should be suspended while the court deliberates the case, but they did not specify when they would rule. Once Prayut formally receives the court document, he has 15 days to write a counter statement explaining why he should keep his job.

Prayut’s administration issued a statement stating that he respects the court’s ruling.

According to the statement, the order “would not disrupt the country’s administration, work done by civil officials, or the government’s ongoing programmes.”

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