On Thursday, as a close ally begins his first full day as acting prime minister and Thailand prepares for weeks of uncertainty as a court considers Prayuth's destiny, the suspended Thai prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is set to attend a defense ministry meeting.
The court chose to examine a petition from the main opposition party alleging that Prayuth has exceeded the eight-year tenure limit since his time as junta commander should be counted.
Prayuth came to power in a 2014 coup when he was army chief.
Prayuth, 68, kept his position as defense minister after the Constitutional Court removed him from the senior role on Wednesday pending a review of his legally mandated term limit.
The court has suspended Prayuth until a ruling on the petition. It has provided no date.
Prayuth has not publicly commented on the court's verdict, and it is unclear whether he will do so on Thursday.
A government official stated that Prayuth respected the decision and requested the public to do the same, adding that government operations would continue as usual.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, 77, a royalist and ex-army chief with extensive ties to Prayuth, has assumed interim leadership but is not scheduled to make a public appearance until Thursday.
In 2014, Prayuth led a military council after overthrowing an elected government.
In 2019, he became civilian prime minister following an election held under a constitution crafted by the military in 2017 that set an eight-year limit for prime ministers.
The next general election in Thailand is slated for May of next year.
The controversy surrounding Prayuth's duration could reignite old rivalries at the root of nearly 20 years of momentary political unrest, including two uprisings and violent protests.
The scandal emanated generally from opposition to military involvement in politics and demands for greater representation as political awareness increases.
The appeal was filed by the main opposition Pheu Thai party, which was removed from office in the 2014 coup led by Prayuth against a government led by Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of former prime minister and telecoms magnate Thaksin Shinawatra.
Both Yingluck and Thaksin, who were deposed in a 2006 coup, live in self-imposed exile abroad.
Chonlanan Srikaew, the leader of Pheu Thai, demanded that Prayuth resign.
"For the interest of the country, General Prayuth should retire so that we may swiftly begin the process of picking a prime minister in accordance with the constitution," Chonlanan wrote on Facebook.
