Prayut keeps defence post, attends ministry meeting

BANGKOK • Suspended Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha attended a Defence Ministry meeting yesterday - albeit virtually - as a long-time ally began his first full day as acting premier and Thailand settled in for weeks of uncertainty while a court ponders Mr Prayut's future.

Mr Prayut attended the meeting via video teleconference, Thailand's The Nation newspaper reported.

He was said to be at his residence at the 1st Infantry Regiment's base in Phya Thai, as the meeting was going on.

Mr Prayut, 68, retained his Cabinet position as defence minister after the Constitutional Court on Wednesday suspended him from the top job pending a review of his constitutionally mandated term limit.

The court decided to hear a petition from the main opposition party arguing that Mr Prayut, who first came to power in a coup in 2014 when he was army chief, has reached the eight-year term limit because his time as junta chief should count.

The court suspended Mr Prayut until it delivers a verdict on the petition. It has not given a date.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, 77, also a royalist and a former army chief with longstanding ties with Mr Prayut, has taken over as interim leader.

Thailand's army chief, General Narongpan Jittkaewtae, told reporters yesterday that Mr Prayut was "a soldier and a gentleman" for accepting the court's decision.

"I have to admire him. He is a gentleman, a leader and a model soldier. The court ordered, and he followed," Gen Narongpan said.

Mr Prayut ruled as head of a military council after he overthrew the elected government in 2014.

He became a civilian prime minister in 2019 following an election held under a 2017 military-drafted Constitution in which an eight-year limit for a prime minister was set.

The controversy over Mr Prayut's tenure could revive old rivalries at the root of nearly two decades of intermittent political turmoil, including two coups and violent protests, stemming broadly from opposition to military involvement in politics and demands for greater representation as political awareness grows.

The main opposition party Pheu Thai, which lodged the petition, was the party forced from power in the 2014 coup, when Mr Prayut ousted a government led by Ms Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of former prime minister and telecoms tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra.

Both Ms Yingluck and Mr Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, live abroad in self-exile.

Pheu Thai leader Chonlanan Srikaew has called for Mr Prayut to step down.

"For the sake of the country, General Prayut should resign so we can begin the process of selecting a prime minister based on the Constitution as fast as possible," said Mr Chonlanan in a post on Facebook.

Public reaction to Mr Prayut's suspension was muted, but a small group of pro-democracy activists set off fireworks near the Prime Minister's residence on Wednesday night and tussled with police.

Youth activist Patsaravalee Tanakitvibulpon said: "Prawit has always been with Prayut... There is not a lot of differences between them."

REUTERS