Is Thai PM Yingluck Shinawatra a victim of 'juristocracy'?

Thailand’s constitutional court has struck again. The south east Asian nation’s embattled prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was booted out of office this afternoon, along with nine members of her cabinet, after they were found guilty of abuse of power.  The decision heaps fuel on a long-running political crisis, with her supporters questioning the impartiality and integrity of Thailand’s judicial system.

Ms Yingluck has weathered six months of boisterous and sometimes violent protest on the streets of Bangkok as its upper and middle class residents tried to topple her government.

They have accused her – and her billionaire brother Thaksin – of nepotism, corruption and disloyalty to the Thai monarchy – although the protests seemed to be running out of steam in recent weeks.

Today, the court did what the demonstrators were unable to when it found that Ms Yingluck had abused her position when she transferred a civil servant from one department to another. The judge delivering the verdict said: “the accused acted for her own political benefit… The transfer wasn’t done for the benefit of the whole country.”

Her government will remain in power until the next elections are held – the court ruled that ministers not implicated in the case could remain in office – and Ms Yingluck’s Pheu Thai party announced that the Commerce Minister Niwatthamrung Boonsongpaisan would take on the role as acting prime minister. Mr Boonsongpaisan is close to the Shinawatras – he held the position of vice chairman of Shin Corporation, the huge telecoms and media company founded by Thaksin.

It is not immediately clear whether Ms Yingluck can appeal or whether she will face other penalties – like a ban on political participation – but today’s events will infuriate her supporters. Her family enjoys the support of the rural poor and, critically, they represent the majority in this country. Her brother Thaksin was the first to recognise their political and economic aspirations, implementing a series of popular policies like cheap health care and small loans. As a consequence, Shinawatra-led or linked parties have won power in every election in Thailand since 2001.

Yet the courts have long been seen as unsympathetic to Thakisn, a man who is widely reviled by the Thai establishment. Ms Yingluck is the third prime minister from a party linked to her brother to be deposed by court order since 2006.

Today, senior members of her Pheu Thai party were calling it another “judicial coup d’etat” from members of the “juristocracy”. Their supporters, commonly known as the “red-shirts”, are planning as series of rallies and protests this weekend, raising the prospect of further instability and violence if they clash with anti-government demonstrators.

As for Ms Yingluck – Thailand’s first female prime minister – well, she told reporters this evening: “I am so sorry that I no longer have the opportunity to serve the people,” adding she was proud to have become leader “through democratic means”.