Thailand’s Constitutional Court has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office.
The suspension was handed on Tuesday pending an ethics investigation over a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian leader.
The judges voted unanimously on Tuesday to take the petition accusing her of a breach of ethics and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her from duty as Prime Minister. The court gave Paetongtarn 15 days to give evidence to support her case.
Paetongtarn has faced growing dissatisfaction over her handling of the latest border dispute with Cambodia, involving an armed confrontation on May 28 in which one Cambodian soldier was killed. The leaked phone call while she engaged in diplomacy over the border dispute set off a string of complaints and public protests.
There was no immediate reaction from Paetongtarm after the court order. She said Monday that she would accept and follow the process, although she didn’t want to see her work interrupted.
Earlier Tuesday, King Maha Vajiralongkorn had endorsed a Cabinet reshuffle forced when a major party left Paetongtarn’s coalition government over the leaked phone call.
Paetongtarn also faces investigations over an alleged breach of ethics by the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, whose decision could also lead to her removal.