Thailand's constitutional court after a shock decision removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin after less than a year in power.
According to CNN, the Constitutional Court in Bangkok on Wednesday, August 14, ruled that the prime minister had violated the constitution and breached ethics rules by appointing a prisoner in the Cabinet.
Nine out of five judges of the court voted to dismiss Srettha, a real estate tycoon and relative political newcomer.
Moreover, the news agency Reuters quoted the judges saying, "Court has found 5-4 that the accused is terminated as prime minister due to his lack of honesty," adding that his behaviour ‘grossly breached ethical standards.’
Now the ruling Pheu Thai-led coalition will nominate a candidate for the premiership and the 500-seat parliament will vote for the new prime minister.
Furthermore, the case against Srettha was filed back in May by a group of military-appointed senators against the appointment of Pichit Chuenban in the cabinet.
Pichit, lawyer and close aide to former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, was jailed for six months in 2008 for trying to bribe Supreme Court officials in a land case involving Thaksin.
The new decision of the court has thrown the country into political uncertainty and instability.
