Prime Ministerial Term Limit: Adopted, Abused, and Abandoned

Abstract

Since 2007, Thailand has introduced a prime ministerial term limit into its constitutional system. However, the purpose of this term limit appears not to prevent an elected tyranny but rather to obstruct enemies of the conservative establishment who have been entrenching their presence in Thailand’s volatile politics. The measure was put to the test when Prayuth Chan-ocha, the junta leader and one of Thailand’s longest serving prime ministers, hit the eight-years term limit. The Constitutional Court was willing to ignore the law and save him. This article traces the adoption of the prime ministerial term limit and highlights the constitutional court decision as a case study of an abusive constitutional borrowing.