Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued a rare rebuke of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra about a week after an inconclusive national election, making it more likely that a pro-military party would form a government.
The monarch revoked royal decorations given to Thaksin because he fled Thailand after being sentenced to prison, which is "an extremely inappropriate behavior," according to a statement posted on the Royal Gazette's website. Thaksin hasn't set foot in the country since 2008 after being accused of corruption in a case he has called politically motivated.
Provisional results show the Thaksin-linked Pheu Thai party emerged with the most seats after the general election on March 24, which followed almost five years of military rule. He or his allies have won the most seats in every election held since 2001, only to be unseated from government by coups or the courts.