Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office pending an investigation over a leaked phone call with a former Cambodian leader.
The judges voted unanimously Tuesday (July 1, 2025) to take the petition accusing her of a breach of ethics, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her from duty.
Ms. 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.
Ms. Paetongtarn said on Monday (June 30, 2025) she would accept and follow the court process although she didn’t want to see her work interrupted. “If you ask me whether I’m worried, I am,” she told reporters.
Earlier in the day, Thailand King Maha Vajiralongkorn approved the appointments of new Cabinet members in the coalition government shaken by a major party’s departure over the Prime Minister’s leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former leader.
The reshuffle came during speculation over whether the Constitutional Court will take a petition accusing Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra of a serious breach of ethics over the leaked call. The court could suspend her from office pending the investigation.
