Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that Prayuth Chan-ocha has not reached an eight-year term limit as prime minister, a move that will enable Prayuth to resume his duties after being suspended last month.

Judges of the court voted six to three to decide that under the 2017 constitution, which came into effect on April 6, 2017, the count of Prayuth's premiership should start from April 6, 2017, and thus he has not completed his term as the prime minister, according to a statement issued by the court on Friday.

"The accused ... has been in the prime minister position not exceeding the limit stipulated by the constitution," a judge said in a 25-minute televised reading of the verdict. "Therefore he is not disqualified."

Acting government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri said after the ruling that Prayut respects the decision of the Constitutional Court and wants to thank all that have given him encouragement.

"(He) will continue to try and use full capacity ... to transform Thailand and lead the country towards a golden age of prosperity for all Thai people," the spokesperson added.

In August, judges of the court agreed by five votes to four to suspend the premiership of Prayuth, effective on August 24, following a petition filed by the opposition parties for a ruling on when Prayuth's eight-year tenure should conclude, which the opposition parties believed should have ended. The opposition parties also urged Prayuth to step down.

During the period, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan had been serving as the interim prime minister, while Prayuth remained as the defense minister.

(With input from Xinhua and Reuters)