The Constitutional Court ruled this afternoon (Wednesday) that the head of the National Council for
Peace and Order (NCPO) is not an “other official of the state”, clearing the way for Prime Minister Prayut
Chan-o-cha to stay on as head of the government.
The issue about the status of General Prayut’s premiership was raised with the Constitutional by about
100 opposition MPs, who contended that his status as Prime Minister of Thailand should end because he
was also the NCPO head, a position which is regarded as “other official of the state” at the time of his
appointment in accordance with Section 170 (4) and Section 98 (15) of the Constitution.
Prior to the charter court’s ruling today, the Election Commission and the Ombudsman had both
separately ruled that the head of the NCPO is not “the other official of the state”.
The Constitutional Court made its ruling without holding inquiries on the grounds that this was an issue
of legality.
For clarity, in Thailand “other official of the state” is different, in legal terms, from “state official”.
