Bangkok, Thailand: Thailand’s Constitutional Court has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra as mounting public and political pressure continues to grow over a leaked phone conversation with former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
In the controversial audio clip, Paetongtarn is heard addressing Hun Sen as ‘uncle and criticising a Thai military commander, remarks that triggered outrage, particularly among conservative lawmakers, and led to a formal petition for her dismissal.
The court ruled 7-2 in favour of suspending her while it deliberates the case. Paetongtarn now has 15 days to submit her defence. During this period, the deputy prime minister will serve as acting prime minister, though Paetongtarn will remain in the cabinet as culture minister, a new role assigned to her just hours before the suspension following a cabinet reshuffle.
The leaked phone conversation centred on a long-standing border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia, reignited recently after a Cambodian soldier was killed in late May.
Paetongtarn defended the call during a press briefing, apologising again and insisting her intention was ‘more than 100 percent for the country.’
“I had no intent to do it for my interest. I only thought about how to avoid chaos, avoid fighting, and to avoid the loss of lives.” Shinawatra added.
However, critics argue that the conversation undermined the Thai military and showed her to be too close to Hun Sen, drawing accusations of political naivety and poor judgment. Conservative factions in Parliament have used the controversy to push for her removal.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 38, is Thailand’s youngest-ever prime minister and only the second woman to hold the office, following her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. Her Pheu Thai Party has faced increasing instability in recent weeks, especially after losing its slim majority when a key conservative coalition partner withdrew support two weeks ago.
If she is ultimately dismissed by the court, Paetongtarn will become the third member of the Shinawatra political dynasty to lose power before completing a term. Shinawatra would also be the second Pheu Thai prime minister to be removed within a year; her predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, was ousted by the same court in August 2024 for appointing to his cabinet a former lawyer with a criminal conviction.
Paetongtarn Shinawatras’s father, Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister and the influential figure behind her rise, is simultaneously battling legal trouble. On July 1st, the same day his daughter was suspended, Thaksin went on trial for lese majeste, Thailand’s strict law against insulting the monarchy, for comments made in a 2015 interview with a South Korean newspaper.
His return in 2023 was part of a political compromise between Pheu Thai and its former conservative adversaries, including elements within the military and factions aligned with the monarchy, the same groups that had ousted both Thaksin and Yingluck in military coups in 2006 and 2014, respectively.
Critics say the court’s repeated involvement in politics, including dissolving 34 parties since 2006, such as the Move Forward Party, which won the 2023 election but was blocked from forming a government, reflects how judicial power is being used to control democratic processes.
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