BANGKOK– A court in Thailand on Wednesday ordered the dissolution of the progressive Move Forward Party, which came first in last year’s parliamentary elections, saying the party had violated the constitution by proposing an amendment to a law against defamation of the Thai royal family.
The Constitutional Court said it voted unanimously to dissolve the party because its campaign proposal to change the law amounted to an attempt to overthrow the country’s constitutional monarchy.
The Move Forward Party was unable to form a government despite its lead in the polls because members of the Senate – then a conservative, military-appointed body – refused to support its candidate for prime minister.
The electoral commission had filed a petition against the party after the Constitutional Court ruled in January that it must stop advocating changes to the law known as Article 112, which protects the monarchy from criticism and carries penalties of up to 15 years in prison for each violation. Move Forward has stressed that it wants to keep the monarchy above politics and not use it as a political tool.
The court on Wednesday also imposed a 10-year ban from political activity on those who held senior positions in the party during the campaign for the proposed change, including charismatic former party leader Pita Limjaroenrat and current party leader Chaithawat Tulathon.
Speaking to supporters and the media on Wednesday evening, Pita said that while he had to say goodbye as a politician, he was looking forward to continuing his work as an active citizen. He said people may be frustrated today, but he would like to ask them to vent their frustration at the ballot box at every election from now on.
He said he was “absolutely proud” of what he had achieved and had no regrets.
“I have left my mark on the universe. And I will make sure to pass the baton to the next generation of leaders,” he said.
Members of a dissolved political party who are not prohibited from engaging in political activity may retain their seats in Parliament if they switch to a new party within 60 days.
Pita said party members would continue “in a new vehicle” that would be unveiled on Friday, although he himself would not be part of it. The party declined to disclose details of the move.
Move Forward had 148 MPs in parliament. If they all move together, they will lose five seats that belong to the now-banned party executives.
“We will stay on the same path. A political party is just a vehicle, so we will wait and see which new party the MPs will switch to,” said Attaphon Buaphat, who met with other party supporters at the party headquarters in Bangkok.
“You can get rid of the agents, the representatives of these people’s beliefs, but you will not be able to get rid of the beliefs,” Attaphon, 34, told the online news service The Reporters.
The court’s actions are one of many that have drawn widespread criticism and are seen as part of a years-long attack by conservative forces on the country’s progressive movement as they seek to stay in power.
The party was stripped of power after the Senate rejected the nomination of its then-leader Pita for prime minister. Unelected senators, who had the right to vote on prime ministerial candidates under the 2017 constitution passed under a military government, said they opposed Pita because he wanted to reform the royal defamation law. Move Forward was later excluded from a coalition with the now-ruling Pheu Thai party and assumed the opposition leadership.
The Court rejected Move Forward’s argument that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case and that the Election Commission’s application did not follow proper procedural procedures because Move Forward was not given an opportunity to defend itself before filing the application with the Court.
Human rights organizations and other stakeholders expressed concern about the court’s decision.
“The decision is no surprise and is unlikely to spark major protests, as Move Forward MPs will remain a force in parliament, albeit under a different banner,” Matthew Wheeler, a regional analyst at the Brussels-based Crisis Group, said in an email. “But the decision is further proof that the 2017 constitution, drafted at the behest of the coup plotters and adopted in a flawed referendum, was designed to contain the will of the people rather than express it.”
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin stressed that the Thai judicial system is fair and impartial and that the government cannot interfere in judicial proceedings.
Thailand’s courts, particularly the Constitutional Court, are seen as a bulwark of the country’s royalist establishment, which uses them and nominally independent state bodies such as the Election Commission to make rulings that can weaken or overthrow political opponents.
Move Forward’s predecessor, the Future Forward party, was dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2020 for allegedly violating electoral laws on party donations. The dissolution of Future Forward, whose promises of reform were particularly attractive to young people disillusioned after years of military rule, further highlighted the struggle between the progressive movement and conservative forces.
This was also one of the triggers for the youth-led pro-democracy protests that erupted across the country in 2020. The protests openly criticized the monarchy, an institution that was previously considered sacrosanct and a lynchpin of Thai society.
The protests have led to intense prosecutions under Article 112, which had previously been used relatively rarely. Critics say the law is often used as a tool to suppress political dissent.
Move Forward, founded as a new home for MPs from the dissolved Future Forward party, campaigned for an amendment to the article and other democratic reforms in the 2023 election. Its first place result suggested that many voters were ready for change.
