Overview

• The ruling forces the cabinet to resign but remain in place in a caretaker role as Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai continues day-to-day duties until parliament selects a new premier.
• Judges found she breached ethical standards in a leaked June call about the Thailand–Cambodia border, where she called a Thai commander her “opponent” and addressed Hun Sen as “uncle”; Hun Sen later circulated the audio.
• The case followed a petition by 36 senators and street protests that heightened pressure ahead of her July suspension.
• Coalition dynamics have shifted after Bhumjaithai quit the government, and parliament is set to choose from 2023-designated candidates, with reporting naming Pheu Thai’s Chaikasem Nitisiri, Bhumjaithai’s Anutin Charnvirakul, or ex-premier Prayuth Chan-o-cha.
• The turmoil unfolded during deadly border clashes that displaced more than 260,000 people before a Malaysia-brokered ceasefire in late July, and it marks the fifth Thai premier removed by the court in 17 years.