Paetongtarn Shinawatra

THAILAND’S caretaker coalition met a key opposition group on Sunday to seek support for its candidate to become the next prime minister, as political jostling intensifies to fill the vacancy left by Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s court-ordered ouster. 

Members of the coalition led by Pheu Thai Party met with executives of People’s Party, the single-biggest group in parliament. Pheu Thai, backed by Paetongtarn’s influential Shinawatra clan, accepted all conditions set by People’s Party, according to Caretaker Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai (picture). 

That included pledging to hold a referendum to amend the constitution, and dissolving parliament within four months of taking power to pave the way for an early election, Phumtham said. He didn’t confirm if the coalition will nominate Pheu Thai’s only remaining prime ministerial candidate, Chaikasem Nitisiri, for the post. Two of its coalition partners have three other eligible candidates. 

“We accepted all the conditions and made some extra optional offers,” Phumtham said. “We’re willing to dissolve parliament within four months if not even earlier.” 

People’s Party didn’t comment after the meeting. Its leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said earlier that the party will make its decision during an internal meeting of lawmakers on Monday afternoon. 

Pheu Thai had been struggling for months, and was on the brink of collapse with the exit of Bhumjaithai Party in June. That came after Paetongtarn’s phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen was leaked and unleashed new political turmoil that eventually led to her dismissal. 

On Friday, Paetongtarn was found guilty of breaching ethical standards under the constitution, with the Constitutional Court saying she’d undermined national interests during the private call. 

The Pheu Thai bloc has officially lost house majority, with key ally Kla Tham Party defecting to rally behind Bhumjaithai’s efforts to form an interim government with its leader Anutin Charnvirakul as the new premier. Whichever group wins the support of People’s Party will be able to form a minority government to end the country’s political vacuum, but will likely be forced to fulfill their pledges for an early election unless they could muster the numbers to command a house majority in the meantime. 

Earlier on Sunday, protesters gathered in Bangkok to oppose Pheu Thai’s attempt to retain power, saying the next prime minister must not come from the party that had caused the current national crisis. –BLOOMBERG

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THAILAND’S Constitutional Court will rule on Aug. 29 whether to disqualify Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who has been previously suspended from duty, over allegations she breached ethical standards in handling a border dispute with Cambodia.

The nine-member court will read out the verdict at 3 p.m. local time, it said in a statement on Wednesday. Prior to the ruling, the court has summoned Paetongtarn — who was suspended on July 1 — and the secretary-general of the National Security Council for a witness hearing on Aug. 21. 

The case against Paetongtarn stems from a complaint lodged by a group of senators around comments she had made in a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen about a border standoff in June. In the call, Paetongtarn was heard blaming the Thai army for escalating tensions by restricting border checkpoints, which sparked protests in Thailand and calls for her to resign. She later apologized for the remarks.

Paetongtarn has denied any wrongdoing, saying her conversation with Hun Sen was a good-faith effort to resolve the border conflict.

If found guilty, Paetongtarn will be removed from office, a risk for an uneasy coalition government led by her Pheu Thai Party. Her removal would also potentially deepen a political crisis, which has left the ruling bloc with only a wafer-thin majority after a key ally quit over the phone call controversy.

A leadership vacuum would come at a critical time, after a late-July border clash with Cambodia left more than 40 people dead over five days of intense fighting. Thailand is now trying to preserve a fragile ceasefire and resolve the dispute through bilateral talks, with security meetings planned for late August.

Paetongtarn became Thailand’s youngest prime minister in August last year after her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, was ousted in a similar ethics-related case over an appointment of a cabinet minister.

The ruling on Paetongtarn also will determine the political future of influential Shinawatra family, which leads the Pheu Thai party. Her father, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, faces a criminal court verdict on Aug. 22 in a decade-old royal defamation case that could see him jailed for up to 15 years. 

In September, another court will rule whether his hospital stay counted toward a one-year sentence he was ordered to serve for corruption, with an adverse decision potentially sending him back to prison.

The Constitutional Court said Paetongtarn and the petitioners may submit their closing statements by Aug. 27. –BLOOMBERG

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