Suspended PM can resume office
Thailand's Constitutional Court yesterday ruled Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had not exceeded the maximum eight years allowed in office, clearing the way for the former coup leader's return from a five-week suspension.
"The accused ... has been in the prime minister position not exceeding the limit stipulated by the constitution," a judge said in a 25-minute televised reading. "Therefore he is not disqualified."
The case was brought by the opposition Pheu Thai party, whose government was toppled eight years ago by then-army chief Prayuth.
Despite portraying himself as a reluctant leader wanting to hold power only briefly, Prayuth served as prime minister of a junta until an election in 2019, after which parliament chose him to remain premier.
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