Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai will not yet have to give up his post despite the ongoing controversy surrounding his wife's shareholdings.
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam yesterday said the case is expected to be submitted to the Constitutional Court next week, and the court can issue an order at any time suspending Mr Don if it considers his work as foreign minister is compromised.
However, if the court disqualifies Mr Don, he will lose his ministerial position and will not be able to return to the cabinet for two years, according to the constitution, Mr Wissanu added.
Election Commission (EC) member, Boonsong Noisophon, said the official ruling of the EC will be submitted to the Constitutional Court next week.
The issue was raised by Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a legal adviser to the Pheu Thai Party, who filed a petition last year demanding an investigation into the shareholdings of nine cabinet ministers. The EC looked into the cases and cleared eight of the ministers.
According to reports, the EC voted 3:2 against clearing Mr Don after learning that his wife had not disclosed her 5% share in a private company. Section 187 of the 2017 charter prohibits a minister or his spouse from holding shares.
If a cabinet minister, or spouse, wants to continue receiving benefits from the stockholding, he must inform the NACC president within 30 days of starting in the job.
However, Mr Don took up his post before the promulgation of the current charter.
Mr Don yesterday issued a statement saying that since joining the cabinet, he had reported such stockholdings to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) on at least four occasions in accordance with the regulations.
These stockholdings are shares that his wife inherited from her father 37 years ago. They are unlisted on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and stockholders consist of 6-7 relatives of his wife, the statement said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut insisted yesterday that there will be no cabinet reshuffle during the last six months of his tenure as prime minister.
"I am not [reshuffling the cabinet]. If he [a minister] can stay, then stay. If he can't, then go," he said before adding that he hasn't thought about shuffling anybody.