Thai court confirms removal of Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office

Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled to dismiss Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from office on Friday, announcing that she was guilty of violating the constitution during a controversial phone call with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen in late June.

Deputy Premier Phumtham Wechayachai and the current cabinet will now oversee the Thai government in a caretaker capacity until a new prime minister is elected by the House of Representatives.

Paetongtarn had been suspended from her duties as prime minister pending Friday's ruling since July 1 on an ethics complaint stemming from her controversial handling of a border dispute with Cambodia.

While border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia had mounted after soldiers from both countries briefly exchanged gunfire in a disputed area in June, Paetongtarn made a private call to Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen in an attempt to ease tensions. However, during the call she referred to a Thai army commander as an "opponent".

The leaked audio clip resulted in a petition from 36 senators to the Constitutional Court of Thailand, in which the senators requested that the court suspend Paetongtarn from her role as MP as they believed that her remarks showed a lack of responsibility and raised serious concerns about Thai sovereignty.

On Friday afternoon, the court cited Paetongtarn's comments as a demonstration of the weakness of domestic Thai politics and stated that the PM had placed her interests above those of the nation in the phone call.

Paetongtarn, as leader of the Pheu Thai party, was elected Thailand's 31st and youngest prime minister in August last year. She is the youngest daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra also served as prime minister between 2011 and 2014.

As a result of being found guilty, 39-year-old Paetongtarn, is the third member of the Shinawatra family to be removed from office.