John AdoyiThailand has been plunged into political uncertainty after the Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office, ruling that she violated ethical standards in a controversial phone call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen.
The decision marks yet another dramatic chapter in Thailand’s turbulent politics and deals a heavy blow to the Shinawatra dynasty that has dominated the country’s democratic space for two decades.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe case against Paetongtarn stemmed from a leaked phone conversation in June during a period of heightened tension along the Thai-Cambodian border.
In the 17-minute call, portions of which were made public by Hun Sen himself, the 39-year-old prime minister could be heard addressing him as “uncle,” appealing for sympathy by saying “please have some sympathy for your niece,” and offering that if “there’s anything you want, let me know and I’ll take care of it.”
She also criticised the Thai army, dismissing the country’s top commander as someone who “just wants to look tough” and describing him as part of the “opposing side.”
The recording provoked uproar in Bangkok. Critics accused her of undermining the military at a time when clashes on the border were intensifying, and the opposition seized on her words as evidence that she had compromised Thailand’s sovereignty.
The fallout was immediate: her coalition partner, the conservative Bhumjaithai Party, withdrew from government in protest, and on July 1 the Constitutional Court suspended her from office while it deliberated on the case.
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On Friday, the court delivered its final verdict, with six of the nine judges ruling that her actions violated the ethical standards expected of a prime minister. The court said her close relationship with Hun Sen created the appearance that she was aligning with Cambodia in a way that undermined public trust.
It added that her behaviour caused the public to doubt whether her actions were intended to benefit Thailand or Cambodia. In its judgment, the court rejected her defence that the call had been a personal attempt to de-escalate tensions and prevent bloodshed, insisting that a leader in her position could not allow personal ties to blur national interests.
Paetongtarn, the daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, responded by acknowledging the court’s decision but defended her actions. “All I wanted was to safeguard the lives of people, whether soldiers or civilians,” she told reporters after the ruling.
She insisted her call had been motivated by the desire to prevent violence on the border, which weeks later erupted into five days of fighting that left dozens dead and forced hundreds of thousands
to flee their homes.
Her removal makes her the fifth Thai prime minister to be dismissed by the Constitutional Court since 2008 and the third member of the Shinawatra family to see their time in office cut short. Thaksin, her father, was ousted in a military coup in 2006, while her aunt Yingluck was removed by the court in
The Shinawatra name has long symbolised a populist challenge to Thailand’s entrenched establishment, but the dynasty has also faced unrelenting pushback from the military, the monarchy, and the judiciary.
Paetongtarn’s premiership had already been precarious. She only entered politics in 2021 and became prime minister earlier this year after her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, was dismissed for appointing a convicted ally to his cabinet. Her government survived on a slim majority, and the withdrawal of Bhumjaithai over the phone call left her vulnerable even before the court’s final decision.
For now, Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will serve as caretaker leader while parliament debates a successor. Under the constitution, parliament does not need to be dissolved, but a majority of MPs must back one of the registered candidates. Pheu Thai has put forward 77-year-old Chaikasem Nitisiri, a former justice minister, while Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul is also seen as a strong contender.
The coming weeks are expected to see intense political bargaining, and analysts warn that if no consensus emerges, Thailand could be pushed towards snap elections.
The court’s decision is a major setback for the Shinawatra family, which despite repeated interventions has remained a powerful force in Thai politics.
With Paetongtarn’s dismissal, questions are now mounting about whether the dynasty’s influence can endure in the face of sustained institutional resistance.
For Thailand itself, the ruling threatens to deepen the cycle of instability that has defined its political landscape for much of the past two decades.
