The Constitutional Court has ruled against Paetongtarn Shinawatra, saying that her controversial phone call amounted to an ethical breach.

This means the suspended prime minister will be immediately removed from office – a blow to her party and the Shinawatra dynasty.

For decades, Thai politics has been dominated by one name: Shinawatra.

Telco billionaire and former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra came into power in 2001 winning over rural voters as well as business elites.

He was the first leader in the country’s history to head an elected government through a full term in office.

Regarded as one of the country’s most influential and polarising characters, Thaksin went into self-imposed exile in 2008 after being deposed by a coup in 2006.

His sister, Yingluck Shinawatra won a landslide in 2011 but was later dismissed by the Constitutional Court, which ruled that she had acted illegally in transferring her national security chief to another position.

The Shinawatras have rocky relationship with Thailand’s military, which have in the past deposed two Shinawatra governments in coups, as well as groups close to the monarchy. But in 2023 they formed an uneasy alliance to battle progressives that had garnered wide support among Thais.

If the court rules in favour of Paetongtarn today, then she will return as prime minister of Thailand. Her term is set to end in May 2027.

But if the court rules against her, she will be removed from office immediately.

Phumtham Wechayachai, the first deputy prime minister, will replace her as acting prime minister. He has already been serving as acting prime minister since Paetongtarn was suspended in July.

A new prime minister will be chosen by a vote in the House of Representatives. But they can only choose among a pre-selected list of candidates.

There are currently five people – across four parties – eligible to be nominated as prime minister:

• Chaikasem Nitisiri, from the Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai Party
• Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the conservative Bhumjaithai Party, which quit the ruling coalition after the leaked phone call
• Prayuth Chan-ocha, former prime minister who retired from politics in 2023 – though he remains on the candidate list for the pro-military United Thai Nation Party
• Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, deputy prime minister and energy minister, who is also on the list for the United Thai Nation Party
• Jurin Laksanawisit, from the conservative Democrat Party

If the Constitutional Court rules against her today, Paetongtarn Shinawatra would become the fifth Thai prime minister in less than 20 years to be removed from office by the court.

She would also be the third Shinawatra to have their premiership cut short: her father Thaksin was deposed by a military coup in 2006 and her aunt Yingluck was also removed by the Constitutional Court in 2014.

The Constitutional Court has started to deliver its verdict.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest

Watchiranont Thongtep
BBC News Thai, Bangkok

Outside the government complex where the Constitutional Court is set to deliver its verdict, dozens of Paetongtarn’s supporters, dressed in red and known colloquially as red-shirts – have gathered to show their support.

The court is expected to read the verdict from 15:00 local time (08:00 GMT).

Members of the press are not allowed to attend the session but there will be a live broadcast from the courtroom.

The Constitutional Court will decide today if Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra – who has been suspended since July – will be removed from office.

At the heart of the case is Paetongtarn’s leaked phone call with Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen in June, as border tensions ramped up between the two countries.

In the call, she had called Hun Sen “uncle” and spoke dismissively about a Thai military commander. Critics accused her of undermining Thailand’s powerful military and took issue with her apparent deference to Hun Sen.

Dozens of Thai lawmakers filed a petition with the Constitutional Court to remove her, claiming that Paetongtarn had breached the ethical standards expected of a prime minister.

Judges will decide if her handling of the phone call amounted to an ethical violation.

In June, thousands took to the streets of Bangkok, calling for Paetongtarn’s resignation after her controversial phone call with Cambodian former leader Hun Sen was then leaked.

Though he retired from formal politics years ago, Paetongtarn’s father – Thaksin Shinawatra – remains a hugely influential force in Thai politics.

Earlier last week, he was acquitted of royal defamation charges, which would have seen him face up to 15 years in jail if convicted.

Thaksin was accused of insulting the monarchy in an interview he gave to a South Korean newspaper ten years ago, in which he said a previous military coup had been instigated by “some people in the palace” and members of the privy council, the 19-member body which advises the Thai king.

Technically the privy council is not covered by the lese majeste law, which states that it is an offence to defame only the king, queen, heir to the throne or anyone acting as regent.

And though Thaksin has now been acquitted, his troubles are not over – he faces another court case next month over his transfer to a hospital to serve a previous jail sentence.

Watchiranont Thongtep
BBC News Thai, Bangkok

Here’s a quick look at what we might expect to happen today:

09:30 local time (02:30 GMT): The Constitutional court begins its deliberations14:30 local time (07:00 GMT): Paetongtarn arrives at the Government House, where she will await the court’s verdict, accompanied by her cabinet ministers for moral support.

15:00 local time (08:00 GMT): The Constitutional Court is set to deliver its verdict. Paetongtarn will not be personally attending – but has assigned representatives to attend court in her place. The reading is expected to take around one hour.

16:00 local time (09:00 GMT): Paetongtarn is expected to hold a press conference on the Constitutional Court’s verdict.

Paetongtarn was suspended in July over a leaked phone conversation with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen as tensions flared at the border of the two countries.

The clip, in which Paetongtarn called him “uncle” and promised to “take care” of his needs, sparked public anger and a petition for her dismissal – the result of which will be announced in court today.

Critics also accused her of undermining the country’s politically influential army. As Thai and Cambodian troops clashed at the border, Paetongtarn told Hun Sen in the call that a Thai military commander “just wanted to look cool”.

The leak prompted a key coalition partner of Paetongtarn’s Pheu Thai party to quit, and Paetongtarn faced heated calls for her resignation.

While Paetongtarn defended the call as a “negotiation technique”, she also said she would no longer engage in private talks with Hun Sen.

The Shinawatras’ friendship with Cambodia’s Hun family goes back decades. Hun Sen and Paetongtarn’s father, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, consider each other “godbrothers”.

But ties between Hun Sen and Thaksin have plummeted since the leaked phone call, with both political kingmakers publicly lashing out at each other.

Yvette Tan
Live editor

Thailand’s constitutional court will soon decide if suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will be permanently removed from office over a leaked phone call.

She has been suspended as prime minister since July, amid controversy triggered by the phone call between her and Cambodian former leader Hun Sen- during which she addressed him as “uncle” and criticised her own military generals.

Dozens of lawmakers took issue with her deferential tone in the call. She later apologised, but senators demanded her resignation and petitioned the court.

Today’s ruling will determine not just the fate of Paetongtarn, but will have implications for the entire Shinawatra family – Thailand’s most influential and polarising political dynasty.

The nine-member Constitutional Court will later vote on whether she had breached the ethical standards expected of a prime minister.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest updates on this.