Thaksin and his proxies’ adventures with Constitutional Court
Prime Minister Srettha on the dock now that the charter court has accepted senators’ petition questioning his ‘political ethics’
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and two of his proxy premiers had a dangerous brush with the Constitutional Court, with the proxies losing their jobs and Thaksin closely escaping a guilty verdict.
Political debutant Srettha Thavisin is the latest prime minister in Thaksin’s network who is experiencing a close encounter with the court. The property tycoon-turned-politician hails from Pheu Thai Part, which is led by Thaksin’s youngest daughter Paetongtarn.
On Thursday, Constitutional Court judges voted 6:3 to accept a petition against Srettha and gave him 15 days to submit his defence.
The petition was filed by a group of 40 outgoing senators who accused the prime minister of violating the Constitution when he appointed former lawyer Pichit Chuenban as a Prime Minister’s Office minister despite his alleged lack of qualifications. The complainants cited a constitutional clause that requires ministerial appointees to be of “evident integrity” and comply with political ethical standards.
In 2008, Pichit was jailed for six months on contempt of court charges after the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division on Holders of Political Positions found that he and two of his junior colleagues had attempted to bribe court officials with 2 million baht. The trio were then representing Thaksin in a conflict-of-interest case.
Pichit resigned as minister on Tuesday, a move he said was aimed at “protecting the prime minister”. However, that was not enough to stop the court from accepting the case for trial. If found guilty, Srettha could be ousted from the position he has held since last August.
Thaksin spared by the court
Thaksin, who is considered the patriarch of the ruling party, almost lost his prime ministerial seat eight months after assuming office in 2001. At that time, he was the leader of a newly popular political party called Thai Rak Thai.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) took its case against Thaksin to the Constitutional Court, accusing him of concealing his assets to avoid the legal limits for Cabinet members. The NACC found that a large part of Thaksin’s properties had been transferred to his chauffeur and maid.
Thaksin argued that it was an “honest mistake” and that he had no intention of filing a false financial statement with the NACC. He claimed the report had been prepared by his secretary. The court’s 15 judges voted 8:7 to acquit Thaksin.
Samak removed from office
Then-prime minister Samak Sundaravej, leader of Thaksin’s proxy People’s Power Party, was brought before the Constitutional Court in 2008 after a group of senators and the Election Commission accused him of violating the Constitution by being a paid employee of a private organisation. The political veteran had been hired by a production house to host a cooking show on television.
The court’s judges voted unanimously to remove Samak from office for violating the charter.
Yingluck lost her seat
In 2014, Thaksin’s younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra was accused by a group of senators of abusing her authority as prime minister when she and other Cabinet members transferred National Security Council (NSC) general secretary Thawil Pliensri to the post of PM’s adviser. The move was to pave the way for Yingluck’s relative Priewpan Damapong to become National Police chief. Yingluck’s Cabinet appointed Priewpan’s predecessor, Wichean Potephosree, in place of Thawil as NSC chief.
In a unanimous decision, the Constitutional Court ruled that she had violated the charter by using her power as prime minister to intervene in bureaucratic appointments for personal gains. The court removed from office Yingluck and other government ministers who were at the Cabinet meeting where Thawil’s transfer was approved.
