Overview

• Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed Paetongtarn Shinawatra for an ethics breach tied to a leaked call with Cambodia’s Hun Sen that the court said put private interest over the national interest.
• Deputy premier Phumtham Wechayachai and the cabinet will run a caretaker government until a parliamentary vote, with no specified timeline for convening the house.
• The ruling follows a petition by 36 senators and makes Paetongtarn the fifth Thai premier in 17 years ousted by the court and the sixth leader from the Shinawatra orbit forced from power by courts or coups.
• Only pre‑2023 nominees are eligible to replace her, leaving Chaikasem Nitisiri, Anutin Charnvirakul, Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, Jurin Laksanawisit and retired general Prayuth Chan‑ocha as potential candidates.
• The government’s majority has been razor‑thin since Bhumjaithai quit the coalition after the leak, protests have flared, and recent Thai‑Cambodian border clashes killed dozens and displaced hundreds of thousands before a ceasefire.