Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha Suspended

Ahead of next year's elections in Thailand, the prime minister has been suspended by a constitutional court. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had neither quit office nor announced new elections even after completing eight years in office. The opposition took the matter to court. The court ordered the suspension of Prayut.
Now a caretaker PM will be appointed to run the government. It will take care of the responsibility of the government till the next election. It is believed that Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan will take over the command.
The opposition had raised the issue of Prime Minister Prayut's tenure. The opposition said that his eight-year term has been completed. Therefore, he should leave his post and announce a new election. When Prayut did not step down, the matter reached the Constitutional Court in the form of a petition. The hearing on this was going on for several days. Four out of the five-judge bench held that Prayut's term was over.
Prayut had come to power after a coup in May 2014. He was the Army Chief at that time. Prayut took over as prime minister for the first time on 24 August 2014 under a provisional constitution. Changes were made to the constitution on 6 April 2017. It said that the tenure of any prime minister would not exceed 8 years. Regarding this, his supporters say that Prayut's prime ministerial term started in 2017, and will end in 2025.
Some supporters say that Chan was elected prime minister in the 2019 general elections under the new constitution. According to this, if he wins the general elections to be held in March, then his term will be till 2027.
Thailand's economy was in bad shape under the Prayut government. The country was deeply indebted. The government could not handle the situation even during the Corona period. The opposition also blamed the Prayut government for its failure to check corruption. It was only after this that a no-confidence motion was brought against the Prime Minister in July 2022. Prayut won here.