BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand’s constitutional court ruled on Wednesday that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha was “not guilty” of a conflict of interest for staying in an army residence after retiring. The ruling meant that he can stay in power. The court’s decision comes with tension high after months of protests to demand his removal. Opposition parliamentarians filed a petition that it constituted a conflict of interest for Prayuth to have remained in military housing after his retirement from the army in 2014. Prayuth has said he needs to stay there for security reasons. (This story refiles to remove extraneous word verdict from headline) Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Matthew Tostevin