Thai Poll Body Seeks Dissolution of Opposition Move Forward

(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s Election Commission said it will ask the Constitutional Court to dissolve the Move Forward Party, the latest in a series of setbacks for the reformist group that won the most seats in last year’s election but was blocked from taking power.

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Members of the election body agreed unanimously that Move Forward should be disbanded as it is deemed to have violated election rules, according to a statement on Tuesday.

The latest move comes after the top court’s ruling in January that the opposition party and its prime minister candidate Pita Limjaroenrat had violated the charter by seeking to overthrow the constitutional monarchy with its campaign to loosen the royal defamation law.

After the poll body submits its petition, the court will decide whether to accept it for consideration. The court’s decision four years ago to disband Future Forward, the predecessor of Move Forward, came with a ban on its key leaders from politics for 10 years.

That means an unfavorable outcome for Move Forward may also spell trouble for its leaders, including Pita, casting doubt on the fate of the group’s reform agenda. A dissolution could also potentially unleash more political unrest that may roil financial markets anew.

Earlier this year, the court ordered Move Forward to stop all attempts to revise Article 112 of the penal code which protects the monarchy from defamation and carries up to 15 years in prison for each offense.

The reformist party, which won 151 seats in the 500-member parliament and almost 40% of the popular votes in May 2023, said on Tuesday that Thailand should be careful not to normalize disbanding political parties.

“We’re more worried about the norm this will set for Thailand’s political values,” party spokesman Parit Wacharasindhu said.

“We’re prepared for every scenario,” he said about Move Forward. “No matter what happens, every idea, every policy we’re trying to push, will be carried on by a new vehicle.”

--With assistance from Pathom Sangwongwanich.

(Updates with details from fourth paragraph.)

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