Aug. 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The opposition to the Government of Thailand has presented this Wednesday a formal request before the Constitutional Court to rule on the term in which the term of the Prime Minister, Prayuth Chan Ocha, ends, who three weeks ago was successful in his fourth motion of censure in the last three years.
The Pheu Thai party and five other opposition deputies have delivered to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chuan Leekpai, a letter in which they argue that Prayuth’s term ends next week, when he is eight years old, and not in 2024. as the Thai Government alleges.
The opposition’s goal is for Chuan to submit the text to the Constitutional Court so that it can decide when Prayuth’s mandate, a former coup leader who in recent years has managed to get rid of all attempts to remove him from office, began and should end.
For Pheu Thai leader Cholnan Srikaew, Prayuth would complete his eight-year term next week, as he was officially appointed prime minister on August 24, 2014, three months after the military coup he led against the Niwatthamrong government. Boonsongpaisan. “Staying one more day would mean breaking the deadlines set by the Constitution,” he said.
The opposition has asked the court to suspend Prayuth’s work while it makes a decision, while the prime minister has been warned not to dissolve Parliament before his term expires due to the problems that a political power vacuum could bring, reports the ‘Bangkok Post’ newspaper.
If the Constitutional Court rules that Prayuth cannot continue in office, since he has completed his eight-year term, he could remain on an interim basis if Parliament does not agree on a substitute until new elections are called, with no date yet, although it is expected that be announced in March 2023.
The petition has been backed by 171 opposition deputies, thus exceeding the requirement of having the support of a tenth of the 500 members that make up the Thai House of Representatives.
Although Prayuth’s supporters and the government agree that the mandate does not end next week, they are unable to reach a consensus on the exact deadline, since for many he only started as prime minister after the 2019 elections, while for others the Constitution only entered into force in 2017 and cannot be applied retroactively.
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