Thai PM Prayuth can continue in office: Court

Bloomberg

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha will remain in office after the highest court ruled he hadn’t breached a constitutional term limit, handing him a victory as political jockeying increases ahead of elections that must be called by March.
The nine-member Constitutional Court said Friday the eight-year term limit can’t be imposed retroactively on Prayuth, who first took office on Aug. 24, 2014 after leading a coup. That’s because this provision and the military-backed charter only became effective in 2017.
Prayuth’s prime ministerial term is deemed to have started from April 6, 2017, the court said in majority ruling, with three members dissenting. That would allow Prayuth to remain the leader until 2025 if he’s picked to lead the ruling coalition again and it returns to power.
The court’s decisions are always final and cannot be appealed. While the baht extended gains to as much as 1% to trim the biggest quarterly loss in more than two years, the main stock index ended 0.2% lower after the court ruling.
The verdict marked the end of the what appeared to be the hardest challenge yet for Prayuth, who had faced and survived a series of no confidence votes. He was suspended from office last month by the court as it deliberated on the opposition’s petition that argued he had completed eight years in office since the May 2014 coup.
The court’s scrutiny had fueled speculation that Thailand’s royal establishment was looking to replace Prayuth ahead of the next election. His popularity has slumped for at least four straight quarters as his government struggles to shore up an economy still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Although election rules still favor the military-backed group to retain power, it faces stiff competition against the Pheu Thai party backed by former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, whose allies have won the most seats in every national vote over the past 21 years. Prayuth ousted Thaksin’s sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, in 2014. “If the establishment forms the next government and their seats in parliament are not significantly more than the opposition, it is likely someone will replace Prayuth as the preferred candidate,” said Titipol Phakdeewanich, dean of political science at Ubon Ratchathani University.