Thai PM ‘to take sole responsibility’ for oath of office gaffe

Thailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, says he will take sole responsibility for failing to recite the full oath of allegiance when he and his new government were sworn in last month.

Prayuth and 35 cabinet ministers pledged their loyalty to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in an official ceremony at Dusit Palace in Bangkok on July 16. However, they failed to complete the full oath of allegiance as required by the Thai constitution, Reuters said.

The prime minister and ministers are required to swear loyalty to the king and to perform duties for the benefit of the country and the people. Public footage of the ceremony shows Prayuth and his cabinet omitting the last sentence of the oath about upholding and complying with the constitution.

“I want to take sole responsibility,” Prayuth said on Thursday at the start of an official meeting. It was not immediately clear what Prayuth would do to rectify the gaffe.