Constitutional Court suspends Paetongtarn as PM because of Hun Sen’s clip

Constitutional Court suspends Paetongtarn as PM pending judicial review over Hun Sen's leaked audio clip, with her remaining as culture minister.

The Constitutional Court voted to accept a senator's petition against Prime Minister Paetongtarn related to a leaked audio clip and suspended her from duty pending the judicial review.

The nine Constitutional Court judges voted unanimously to accept the petition of 36 senators, which had been forwarded to the court by Senate Speaker Mongkol Surasajja.

The judges then voted 7-2 to suspend Paetongtarn from her duties as prime minister pending their ruling, but Paetongtarn could still function as culture minister in her new Cabinet. She had nominated herself for the extra post of culture minister in the new Cabinet, which was signed by the King and published in the Royal Gazette shortly before the court made its decision on Tuesday.The group of senators asked the court to remove Paetongtarn as prime minister on charges of sedition that allegedly affected the country’s sovereignty, as she was heard attacking the commander of the Second Army Area as “the opponent” during a phone conversation with former Cambodian PM Hun Sen.

The recorded clip of her conversation was later leaked to social media. She came under severe criticism for allegedly trying to please the Cambodian strongman amid border tensions, while the Second Army Area was attempting to take a tougher stance to defend Thailand’s territories.

The group of senators invoked Article 82 and Article 170(3) to seek the court ruling. They alleged that Paetongtarn must be removed from office under the provisions of Article 170(4) and Article 160(4) and (5).The court ordered Paetongtarn to submit her written defence to the court within 15 days.

The court said Paetongtarn must stop working as prime minister from Tuesday, July 1, until the court makes a ruling in the case.

The two minority judges who voted against her suspension were Nakarin Mektrairat and Udom Sitthiwiratchatham. They cited that it was not clear whether the prime minister had violated the charter, as alleged in the complaint.

The group of senators alleged in the petition that the evidence clearly showed Paetongtarn had personal ties with Hun Sen and secretly negotiated with the Cambodian strongman in a manner that was detrimental to Thailand’s territories and sovereignty. The senators asked the court to suspend her from duty pending the ruling, fearing that allowing her to continue in office would cause irreparable damage to the country later.

The senators alleged that Paetongtarn’s explanation following the leak of the clip sounded unreasonable. They noted that she tried to justify the situation by claiming that Hun Sen was angry at the Second Army Area commander, so she sought to reach an understanding with him through a private phone conversation. Paetongtarn said the private conversation should not have been made public and that her intention was to maintain peace and Thailand’s sovereignty with a soft approach. The senators argued that this explanation was unreasonable.

The senators stated in the petition that Paetongtarn could have tried to resolve the border situation through systematic methods and diplomatic negotiations, in line with international practices and the Foreign Ministry’s protocols. The petition further stated that there was no reason for Paetongtarn to hold a secret and personal conversation with Hun Sen, nor was there any justification for her referring to the leader of a country engaged in military conflict with Thailand as “uncle” or for calling the Second Army Area commander “the other side.”

(2025/07/01-00:00)