BANGKOK, Thailand -- In a stunning decision which tosses Thailand's government into a scramble for leadership, The Constitutional Court on August removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for an ethical violation after he appointed a convicted criminal to his cabinet.

"I'm sorry that I'd be considered as a prime minister who is unethical, but that's not who I am," the toppled prime minister Srettha said after the court's ruling.

The judges focused on his appointment of Pichit Chuenban, who had been busted for contempt of court for allegedly attempting to bribe a court official with thousands of dollars in a paper bag, and was imprisoned for six months in 2008.

After 19 days of outrage about Mr. Pichit's appointment was expressed in local media and among opposition politicians and their supporters, he quit the cabinet.

The Constitutional Court's final verdict also resulted in Mr. Srettha's entire cabinet of ministers transforming into temporary caretakers.

That change is expected to slam the economy because decisions about investment and other financial issues may be delayed until a new cabinet is installed, according to analysts.

Whoever becomes the next prime minister would likely continue Bangkok's current domestic and foreign policies which include inviting foreign investment, upgrading infrastructure, and balancing diplomatic, economic, and military relations with the U.S. and China.

After the court ruled 5-4 to immediately disqualify Mr. Srettha, 62, for breeching "rules on ethics," he was quickly replaced by Caretaker Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai until parliament was able to convene on August 16 to elect the next prime minister.

Mr. Phumtham was in Mr. Srettha's party and government as a first deputy prime minister and commerce minister. It was not immediately known if he would contest for the top position.

Mr. Phumtham was visiting Kazakhstan when the news of Mr. Srettha's guilty verdict came through, so within hours he flew back to Bangkok to confer with PTP members.

The current squabbling 11-party coalition has 314 seats who could unite behind a single candidate or split into rival factions joining other parties, especially the increasingly powerful military-aligned cliques.

Mr. Srettha had jumped from his lucrative property marketing career into politics one year ago in August 2023, and helped to end Bangkok's nine years of military-dominated governments.

Many perceived him as a pliant puppet of former prime minister and convicted criminal Thaksin Shinawatra, whose family dominates their Pheu Thai ("For Thais") Party.

"Whether the Pheu Thai Party (PTP) will have the [prime ministerial] slot will depend on discussions with coalition parties," said PTP Secretary-General Sorawong Thienthong.

"If other coalition parties propose candidates to be the next prime minister, we will be pleased," Mr. Sorawong said, according to the Bangkok Post.

The timing of the court's ruling comes one week after the same Constitutional Court on August 7 expelled from politics Thailand's most popular opposition politician Pita Limjaroenrat, plus 10 of his executives, and dissolved their Move Forward Party (MFP).

Mr. Pita's downfall resulted from him repeatedly demanding the king's powerful legal protection against libel be weakened and "reformed" -- a taboo subject in this Buddhist-majority Southeast Asian U.S. military ally.

Mr. Pita and his now disbanded MFP came in first place in May elections for parliament's Lower House.

They failed however to make Mr. Pita prime minister because most parliamentarians refused to support anyone challenging the monarchy.

Mr. Srettha and the Pheu Thai Party came in second-place in the May polls.

Military officers, royalists, conservatives, and coup-friendly politicians, appear to be gaining from the past week of head-chopping decisions, according to some analysts.

Their power was boosted after military-related candidates recently won polls to dominate the Senate, reviving their comeback from their previous peaks after bloodless coups in 2006 and 2014.

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Richard S. Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based American foreign correspondent reporting from Asia since 1978, and winner of Columbia University's Foreign Correspondents' Award. Excerpts from his two new nonfiction books, "Rituals. Killers. Wars. & Sex. -- Tibet, India, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka & New York" and "Apocalyptic Tribes, Smugglers & Freaks" are available at
https://asia-correspondent.tumblr.com