Thailand has been thrown into fresh political uncertainty after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was removed from office by the Constitutional Court. In a ruling delivered on Friday, six of the court’s nine judges found her guilty of violating ethical standards in connection with a leaked phone call to Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen. The 39-year-old leader, daughter of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, becomes the fifth Thai prime minister to be forced from power by the court since 2008.
The controversy stemmed from a June phone call, released publicly by Hun Sen himself, in which Paetongtarn referred to him as “uncle” and criticised Thailand’s military amid rising border tensions. Critics accused her of undermining the credibility of the armed forces and aligning too closely with Cambodia, while the court said her relationship with Hun Sen raised doubts over whether her actions placed “Cambodia’s interest above the nation’s.” Although Paetongtarn insisted the call was an effort to “bring back peace without using violence,” the court rejected her defence.
The fallout from the scandal coincided with worsening clashes on the Thai-Cambodian frontier, which escalated weeks later into a five-day border conflict that left dozens dead and forced hundreds of thousands to flee. Paetongtarn said she respected the ruling but maintained her actions were motivated by a desire to save lives. Her removal marks yet another political setback for the Shinawatra family, whose influence has dominated Thai politics for two decades but has repeatedly clashed with the country’s conservative establishment.
Paetongtarn’s premiership had been fragile even before the verdict, as her coalition partner, the Bhumjaithai party, withdrew support over the leaked call. Parliament will now select her successor from five registered candidates, with former justice minister Chaikasem Nitisiri representing her Pheu Thai party, while Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul is considered a frontrunner. Unlike in past crises, parliament does not need to be dissolved, but any replacement must secure majority support from lawmakers.
Her removal cements the Shinawatras’ turbulent political legacy. Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a 2006 military coup, while his sister Yingluck was dismissed by the Constitutional Court in 2014. With Paetongtarn now the third member of the family to have her leadership cut short, questions remain over how much longer the Shinawatra dynasty can endure in Thai politics — and whether it can regain the grip it once held on the country’s future.
