Court removes Thailand PM
Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2012 10:16 amCourt removes Thailand PM
« Thread Started on Dec 2, 2008, 2:45am »
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Court removes Thailand PM
Posted: 03:26 AM ET
BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed the government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on Tuesday, banning him from public office for five years after finding his ruling party committed electoral fraud.
The decision follows months of opposition protests in Bangkok that have forced Somchai and his government from their offices and shut down the city’s major airport for a week. Tuesday’s ruling also dissolved two of the PPP’s coalition partners and barred more than 30 other PPP officials from public office over allegations of vote-rigging.
It is the second time in three months that the court has removed a prime minister from the People Power Party, which took office after elections in December 2007. Jakrapob Penkair, a Somchai ally and former government official, told CNN a deputy prime minister from one of the remaining coalition parties would take over from Somchai until the parliament could approve a new government.
“The PPP is a responsible party,” he told CNN. “Our government and the people have been concerned with the country before ourselves.”
« Thread Started on Dec 2, 2008, 2:45am »
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Court removes Thailand PM
Posted: 03:26 AM ET
BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court removed the government of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat on Tuesday, banning him from public office for five years after finding his ruling party committed electoral fraud.
The decision follows months of opposition protests in Bangkok that have forced Somchai and his government from their offices and shut down the city’s major airport for a week. Tuesday’s ruling also dissolved two of the PPP’s coalition partners and barred more than 30 other PPP officials from public office over allegations of vote-rigging.
It is the second time in three months that the court has removed a prime minister from the People Power Party, which took office after elections in December 2007. Jakrapob Penkair, a Somchai ally and former government official, told CNN a deputy prime minister from one of the remaining coalition parties would take over from Somchai until the parliament could approve a new government.
“The PPP is a responsible party,” he told CNN. “Our government and the people have been concerned with the country before ourselves.”