Thailand court clears way for PM Prayuth to return from suspension

Mr. Prayuth, 68, had been suspended from office while the court deliberated the case.

Thailand's Constitutional Court on September 30, 2022 ruled Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had not exceeded the maximum eight years allowed in office, clearing the way for his return from a five-week suspension.

The ruling will be a big boost for Prayuth, a staunch royalist whose premiership has been beset by attempts to unseat him, including four house censure motions, a conflict of interest case and protests challenging his leadership and the monarchy.

"The accused... has been in the prime minister position not exceeding the limit stipulated by the constitution," a judge said in a 25-minute televised reading of the verdict.

"Therefore he is not disqualified."

Mr. Prayuth ruled as head of a military council after he overthrew an elected government when he was army chief in 2014.

He was junta leader and prime minister until an election in 2019, held under a military-drafted constitution in which an eight-year limit for a prime minister was set, after which a new parliament chose him to stay on as premier.

Deciding a case filed by the opposition Pheu Thai party, the court said a majority of judges had concluded Prayuth's tenure started in 2017, meaning he could serve until 2025, if re-elected.