Thailand’s most powerful political dynasty has once again lost its grip on power after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra was permanently removed from office.
The Constitutional Court ruled that she committed serious ethical violations by siding with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen in a leaked phone call about a deadly border clash.
The scandal triggered mass protests and splintered her fragile coalition, forcing the Pheu Thai Party into crisis. Paetongtarn’s downfall makes her the third Shinawatra leader to be ousted before finishing a term, following her father Thaksin and aunt Yingluck.
Her removal throws Thailand into political turmoil as rival factions scramble to form a new coalition or face the prospect of fresh elections.
The ruling marks yet another chapter in the ongoing battle between the Shinawatras and the royalist establishment, which has repeatedly used the courts and coups to block the family’s return to long-term power.