Thai court asked to rule if prime minister must step down

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court has received a petition from opposition lawmakers seeking a ruling on whether Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has reached the constitutional limit of eight years in office. The court is widely expected to announce Wednesday whether it will rule on the petition. At issue is whether the eight-year period started in 2014, 2017 or 2019. Polls show the prime minister’s popularity at a low ebb, and his critics have been seeking his exit for more then two years. Prayuth, then army commander, seized power in May 2014 after toppling an elected government in a military coup. He was installed as prime minister under a provisional post-coup constitution, and then again under a new constitution following a 2019 election.