4 possible outcomes of petition against Srettha, Pichit
Political gurus offer different scenarios of what may happen if the court decides to take or reject senators’ petition against the PM and PM’s Office minister
Political pundits see four possible outcomes from the petition filed by 40 senators demanding the removal of PM Srettha Thavisin and PM’s Office Minister Pichit Chuenban.
The senators last week asked the court to consider whether Srettha violated the charter by appointing Pichit to the Cabinet. If so, they said, the court should remove them both from office.
According to the senators, Pichit is not qualified as per Article 160 of the charter to become a Cabinet member because he was once jailed for trying to bribe court officials. They alleged that Srettha had also violated political ethics as the prime minister by appointing Pichit despite knowing that he was not qualified.
The court is scheduled to deliberate on Thursday as to whether it should take on the case and political experts see four possible outcomes:
The Constitutional Court rejects the case
The court may dismiss the case on grounds that the evidence and information provided is insufficient.
The political gurus said if Pichit decides to quit before the court decides on the petition, the case may be dismissed as done previously with many other similar cases.
Court decides to try both Srettha and Pichit
The court may resolve that Srettha, as a government leader, should carefully screen the people he plans to appoint as Cabinet members and ensure they do not fall under any category of prohibited qualifications.
The court may dismiss the case if Pichit resigns later
If the court decides on Thursday to take on the trial, but Pichit steps down later, the court may dismiss the case.
Political gurus cited the case of former deputy interior minister Nipon Boonyamanee, who quit after the court accepted a petition questioning his qualifications. The court dismissed the case after he resigned.
Court may accept the case against Pichit, but dismiss the petition against Srettha
Political gurus say the court may consider the qualifications issue specific to a particular Cabinet member and may not hold Srettha responsible for it.
However, the experts said if the court does decide to try both Pichit and Srettha and suspends both from office pending verdict, it would result in serious political repercussions.
Plus, they said, if Srettha is later removed from office, a new premier will have to be elected by the MPs.
They also pointed to the scenario of the court issuing a ruling on the Move Forward Party’s case first before taking on the Srettha-Pichit case. They said that if Move Forward is dissolved first, then many MPs may switch sides, which could have an impact on the vote for prime minister.
Move Forward faces dissolution for trying to amend Article 112 of the Criminal Code or the draconian lese majeste law.
